


Why Did It Have To Be Me?

by aminal24



Category: American (US) Actor RPF, Broadway RPF
Genre: Broadway, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Long-Distance Relationship, Meet-Cute, Mild Language, On-Again/Off-Again Relationship, Slow Burn, Smut, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:20:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 40,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22328476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aminal24/pseuds/aminal24
Summary: "Falling in love with a woman like you, happened so quickly, there's nothing to do. It's only natural, but why did it have to be me?"
Relationships: Aaron Tveit/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 26





	1. Tooth Model (Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

> This story is told in tableaus or scenes throughout Anna and Aaron's relationship. Any chapter that will involve sex will be labeled with a *. If you have requests for scenes you want included in the story let me know!

“Up yours, asshole!” Anna shouted at the honking horn of an aggressive taxi.

The taxi driver flashed her a less than dignified finger and then sped off, the whoosh of the car’s speed whipping her dirty blonde hair in front of her face. She batted a gloved hand at the hair and spit out the strands that had weaved their way into her mouth. “Gotta love New York,” She muttered to herself as she crossed the street.

It had been two months since she moved to the Big Apple. Originally hailing from Minnesota, the city seemed like a dream home. The whole city had a lively and artistic vibe that she couldn’t help but fall in love with. Plus, with the changing of the season and the colors of the leaves turning red and yellow, it was so picturesque it almost didn’t seem real. In fact, it looked like every film that had ever been set in New York. Anna was happy to live here. That is when she wasn’t being flipped off by angry taxi drivers.

Anna was walking toward the Imperial Theater, where her show was. It had been a long-standing dream of hers to be in a show on Broadway. Of course, she was just a chorus member, which she was more than fine with. Most of her roles, even back in Minnesota, were smaller roles. She had never had a major role before, but was hoping that being a chorus member for a while would help build a resume and get her in touch with the right people.

Today, for instance, was a particularly exciting day. The directors were in the works of finding new understudies for various roles. Luckily, Les Miserables had plenty of singing roles that would give Anna her moment to shine and show the directors what she could do. She was practically jumping out of her skin with excitement. As her feet carried her down the street, she was humming songs silently to herself.

“Excuse me?” A voice from behind her interrupted her humming. Anna turned to face the stranger, thinking that it was some person trying to get some money off of her.

But when she turned her eyes fell on a rather handsome looking guy. He wore a beanie, probably to keep his head warm in the fall weather, a brown jacket with a fur-lined hood that was zipped up until it met his neutral colored knit scarf. One of the first things Anna noticed was the killer blue eyes.

“You dropped this back there.” He said. That’s when Anna realized that he was holding out her Les Mis binder. She had tucked it under her arm, but probably dropped it when she was screaming at the taxi. Anna then realized that he was still holding the binder out to her and she was doing nothing.

She shook her head and smiled. “Oh my god, thank you.” Anna reached out and took it from him. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice this was gone.” A small chuckle escaped her, trying to make light of the awkward scenario.

He returned the chuckle, flashing incredibly white teeth. _Jesus, does this kid shoot commercials for toothpaste or something?_ She thought to herself. “Yeah, well, it looked like you were a little busy with your favorite cab driver.”

Anna felt her cheeks turn pink from embarrassment. But she fought it off with another chuckle. “Hey, it’s New York City, man. If you let one cab driver treat you like shit, then they all will. They have a secret telepathy system, you know.”

“Really?” The man’s smile remained, clearly amused by her.

“Oh, yeah.” Anna nodded, unable to stop the bit. “They’re probably spreading the news right now to avoid this crazy screaming white chick at all costs.”

“Or they’re putting the hit out on you.” The guy chimed in. _Oh great,_ she thought _, he’s hot and funny_.

Anna looked around over both shoulders. “Then you probably shouldn’t be seen with me.” She said in a softer voice. “Too dangerous.”

“You’re probably right.” He nodded.

At that moment, Anna’s cell phone rang and reality set in. She looked to see who was calling and it was Rowena, the stage manager. “Oh, shit. I gotta go.” Anna said, realizing that she was going to be late. “But thanks again!” She walked away from handsome tooth model guy quickly. If she stayed any longer, she might have jumped his bones.

“You’re welcome!” She heard him call after her. She didn’t dare look back, but she gave him a wave to acknowledge him. Her feet were moving quickly, mostly to get to the theater on time, but also to get away from him. As she sped away, she did not notice the guy giving her a bemused grin as he watched her disappear up the street. 

“Anna, you made it just in time.” Rowena greeted as Anna burst through the door. “I was starting to get worried you slept in. What happened?”

Anna took a deep breath to help slow her breathing. “I almost forgot my book.” She replied with a sly smile.


	2. Tooth Model (Part 2)

The next morning, Anna awoke with a newfound excitement. Today, they were going to announce the new understudies. She checked her phone and saw several good luck text messages from her cast mates. The rehearsals yesterday seemed to go well, and Anna was incredibly optimistic that she might have landed a good role.

She decided to head to the theater a little early so she could stop by a coffee shop and get some tea. She had been trying to drink more tea than coffee, since it was better for the voice. Although, she did indulge in some coffee from time to time. _If I get a role, I get myself coffee tomorrow,_ she told herself, as a reward.

Anna walked into a Starbucks, with her reusable mug in one hand and her script in the other. Of course, there was a line, so Anna took her place. Back home in Minnesota, there was rarely a line anywhere, but in New York City, there was always a line of at least 10 people at all times. It was something she was still trying to get used to. But today, she was using the line to help her think of which tea she was going to get.

As she was mentally making her decision and the line moved slowly forward, she became a aware of a faint humming behind her. It was very melodic and clearly a man’s voice. _Do I turn around and look to see who’s humming?_ She thought. _No, that’s creepy and weird. Don’t do that._ So, she just silently listened. It was very quiet, mostly because of the hustle and bustle of the Starbucks, so it was hard for her to detect which song he was humming. But it was very soothing. _Jeez, get this guy a record label already._

Finally, it was Anna’s turn to order. She had decided on a green tea. She paid and walked toward the pick up counter. As she stood there, she decided to steal a glance at the person who was humming behind her in line. When she did, she almost yelped out in surprise. It was handsome tooth model guy! He was ordering, keeping that suave and charming smile on his face. _How small is New York City anyway?_ Anna thought. But she also realized she was staring. So she quickly opened her Les Mis book and pretended that she was focused on that.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Tooth Model pay for his drink and flashing one more dashing smile to the barista. _Damn, boy._ Then he started to make his way to the pick up counter. _Oh, fuck, he’s going to know that I was staring at him. Please don’t notice me. Please don’t notice me. Please don’t notice me._

“Hey, it’s New York City’s most wanted,” She heard the guy say in her direction. _Fuck._

Anna looked up and tried to act like she was surprised. “Oh, hey.” She said, putting on a show. “Of all the Starbucks in town, you chose this one, huh?”

“Yeah, well, it’s convenient.” He said shrugging.

“Yeah, same.” Anna giggled, her mind trying to think of something clever to say.

“So, you’re in Les Mis, huh?” He asked, gesturing toward the same binder he had returned to me yesterday.

It was now her turn to shrug. “Yeah, but only as a chorus member. Although, I might be an understudy soon.” _Why are you telling him this? He doesn’t care._

“Really?” He said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. “For which part?”

“Javert,” Anna joked.

Tooth Model didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, that’s a great role. I always wanted to play him. I hope you get it.”

Anna looked at the set of killer blue eyes. _Why is this guy even bothering with someone like me? I’m not even in his league._ “I hope so, too, or I quit.”

He laughed heartily, his blue eyes crinkling. “By the way, I never got your name.” He said. _Fuck_.

Before Anna could answer, a barista called out, “Green tea in a personal mug for Anna!” As Anna reached for her mug, she thanked the barista. “That’s an unusual name,” She heard Tooth Model say. Anna gave him an inquisitive look. “Does Green Tea in a Personal Mug for Anna even fit in your ID?” He asked, his eyes sparkling with humor.

Anna roller her eyes and tried to fit the urge to laugh, to no avail. “Oh my god, that’s the worst dad joke I’ve ever heard.” She groaned.

Tooth Model shrugged. “I thought it was pretty good.”

Then the barista came back and called, “Venti Iced Americano for Aaron!” He grabbed it and thanked the barista, then turned back to Anna.

“Well, nice to meet you, Venti Iced Americano for Aaron.” She smiled, holding out her hand.

With a smile, he grabbed her hand and shook it. “Likewise, Miss Green Tea for Anna.”

The feeling of his hand in hers was intoxicating. She felt an overwhelming urge to melt into him, but somehow she managed to keep herself steady and upright.

 _Fuck me_.


	3. Wonder Boy (Part 1)

Anna stormed in to the Starbucks with a fire and fury that had never been seen a Starbucks before. Her head was practically boiling and if you looked close enough, the steam was rising from her dirty blonde hair that was pulled into a messy ponytail.

Aaron’s smile disappeared upon seeing her in such a state. Since their first meeting in this very Starbucks, they made a standing meeting, not date, to meet up every Monday. Anna didn’t have to perform on Mondays, and Aaron was doing some workshops around the area, so this Starbucks was the most convenient. They had grown to be quite good friends, although there was an unspoken yet undeniable connection that drew them to each other. Secretly, they both looked forward to their Monday Meeting, as they liked to call it. Aaron, in particular, was very excited because he had some exciting news to share with Anna. Though, given her current mood, perhaps now wasn’t the best time.

“Whoa, what’s wrong?” He asked, then flashed a timid smile. “Did you forget your reusable mug again?” He joked trying to get her to smile.

Her pale blue eyes flashed red as she sat down at the table across from him. “Don’t even,” She snapped. “I’m not in the mood.” Anna lifted her hands and rubbed her temples.

“Yeah, no shit,” Aaron replied. He leaned forward. “What’s up?”

After taking in a deep and slow breath, Anna said, “Well, I just got off the phone with my dad.”

Aaron nodded, finally understanding. “And what did he have to say?”

“Oh, only that I’m basically wasting my time here.” Anna said with enough bitterness to rival a lemon. “That I should have never left home and that I’ve abandoned my family in order to pursue a dream that will never come true.” She could feel the urge to cry come up, so she silenced herself in order to suppress that urge. No way in hell was she going to cry in front of a store full of people, and least of all, Aaron.

She heard him sigh. “I’m sorry.” He offered softly. She had told him how her parents had divorced when she was very young. Her mother had basically walked out on her and her family, even went so far as to relinquish her parental rights. Because of this, Anna basically had to raise her two younger siblings. Her father had come to rely on her, almost like she was a care-giver instead of a sister. “Look,” he said. He spoke carefully, knowing that he needed to proceed with caution. “I know how hard it has been for you to leave them. But this isn’t the first time your dad has said this. Why are you upset about this now?”

Anna felt her lip quiver, but she covered her face, trying to hide her emotions. “I don’t know.” She muffled through her fingers. “Maybe because I am worried that he might be right.”

“Don’t say that.” Aaron tried to assure her.

Just then, her anger flashed like a cornered animal. “Why not, Aaron?” She spoke firmly and loudly. Her hands shot from her face and started to gesture wildly. The hustle and bustle of the store and the patrons helped cover most of her anger, but the customers around them definitely noticed her outburst. “I mean what am I doing here? Yeah, I’m on Broadway, but as a fucking understudy. I’m not exactly striking gold in my career. I’ve barely got my equity card. Hell, you’ve had way more success than I have.” Her eyes stung, but still she fought the tears that threatened to surface.

Aaron let her fume. It bothered him to hear her say those things, but he understood them. Every actor has had these thoughts. “Maybe my dad is right,” She said in a much softer and rather defeated tone. “Maybe I should just go back home and stick with being a teacher or something.” There was a pregnant pause that followed.

“Are you finished?” He asked. She shot him an incredulous look.

“What?” She must have heard him wrong.

“Is your pity party done?” His voice was unwavering; his expression was completely serious.

Anna blinked a couple times as she took in his words. Then she set her jaw. “I beg your pardon?”

He could see her anger rekindle, but he knew that what she needed right now was some tough love. He swallowed and tried his best to sound confident. “This is a tough business, no doubt about that. But you got to have thick skin. Anna, do you know how many people come here to New York and would kill to be in your shoes right now? Whether you believe it or not, you are much farther than most people in this business.” Anna sat back in her chair as she listened. She knew that he was right, but did not say so. “You can’t keep thinking of your family all of the time.” He continued. “You said so yourself that you had to let them go and try to handle life without you constantly being there for them. You are here because you want to be, and that’s what matters. Your family and your dad can complain all they want about how they miss you, but they are better off.”

She smiled bitterly. “And how do you know that? You don’t even know them.” She challenged.

“I know you.” He stated with a stupidly handsome grin. “And I know that you are way stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

Anna took in deep calming breath for the first time. _Smart and handsome,_ she thought. _Wonder boy is perfect_. “I’m sorry.” She said finally. Then she chuckled slightly, trying to alleviate the levity of the situation. “I’m tired of talking about me. You said you had news?”

He suddenly remembered the text he had sent her earlier. He knew that she was trying to distract him and change the subject, but she seemed like she needed it. So he allowed it and smiled. “I do,” He nodded. “You know how I’ve been looking to get back on stage again.”

“Looking? I’d say dying.” She joked flashing a bright smile. _Maybe if I smile wide enough, I won’t feel like shit anymore._

Aaron rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Anyway, my agent may have just found me a great opportunity.”

“That’s great, Aaron.” This time her smile was genuine. “What is it?”

He looked around and leaned in a little closer. Anna leaned with him, she could catch a faint whiff of his cologne. When he spoke, he made sure his voice was low and quiet. “You remember the movie _Moulin Rouge_?”

Anna’s jaw dropped so quickly, it practically unhinged. It was arguably one of the best modern musicals of all time. “Are you serious? They’re finally going to put it on Broadway?”

The sparkles in his baby blue eyes were a light source all in their own. “Apparently. And guess who has an audition?”

She punched him in the arm. “You lucky son of a bitch.” Anna’s voice raised in excitement.

He blushed slightly. “Well, actually, I’ve kinda, sorta…. been offered a role.” It was hard to say that without sounding like a complete dickhead.

“Oh, ho-hum,” Anna teased his dickheadedness. “Don’t tell me it’s Christian.” Aaron made a face that said “well…” and Anna couldn’t help but punch him in the arm again. “Shut up, you’re joking.”

He rubbed where she had twice hit him. “I’m not, and can we bring down the punching, please?” He feigned injury to make a point.

Now it was Anna’s turn to roll her eyes. “Oh, please, you big baby.” She chuckled to herself. Aaron prided himself on how much he liked to work out, and Anna was a skinny little white girl who had zero upper body strength. Even she had tried to hurt him, he wouldn’t feel it. But then a thought dawned on her. “Wait,” she said. “Then why did you say you had an audition?”

He gave her an all-knowing grin. “I never said the audition was for me.”

“Then who?” She asked, dying to know what celebrity would play opposite of Wonder Boy here. “If you say Nicole Kidman, I will kick you in the nuts.”

Aaron let out a laugh, crinkling his eyes. “No, I wish.” He took a few breaths, realizing that she was still waiting for him to answer. “No, the person who I was able to get an audition for… was you, Anna.”


	4. Wonder Boy (Part 2)

Butterflies in your stomach. A common idiom amongst English speakers. Of course, it doesn’t literally mean that there are flying insects inside of you. Although, Anna was convinced that if you cut her open, at least a million butterflies would flutter out of her.

She was sitting on the subway, shaking more than the actual moving car. Earbuds in her ears were blasting a pumping playlist, currently it was “Work Bitch” by Britney Spears. Usually, that song would give her all the confidence in the world. But even if Britney Spears was here in person encouraging her, Anna still would be the most nervous person alive.

 _I can’t believe I agreed to this_ , she thought to herself. The more she thought about, the more she was confused. Only a couple weeks ago, Aaron had told her that he had swung her an audition to be Satine in the stage version of Moulin Rouge. Somehow he had convinced her that she was ready for it. He had cited when he went to see her perform as Eponine in Les Mis. “There was not a dry eye in the house,” He had told her. “Even I’m man enough to say that I was a puddle.”

Now here she was, on her way to audition. Her phone buzzed. With all of her nerves shaking her body, she barely registered the vibration of it. But she looked down and saw it was a text from Aaron.

_Break all their fucking legs!! Call me after!!_

A smile formed on her face. She wished that he could have been there for support. But the producers were still narrowing down who was going to play Satine, and didn’t want to involve Aaron until they had their top contenders.

She sent him about a dozen thumbs up emojis. That was about all she could muster. The English language suddenly seemed foreign to her.

Finally, she reached her stop. Anna snuck around the crowd of people trying to get on the car, and she made her way back to the surface. The chaotic energy of the city seemed to pale in comparison to her inner chaos. She stared up at the building she was supposed to audition in. This is it, she thought to herself. This is what you left home for. You got this.

Suddenly, her inner pep talk was interrupted by her phone buzzing again. She looked and saw that her agent was calling her.

“Hey, Pam,” Anna answered, noticing her voice was shaky. She tried to clear her throat in an attempt to mask her nerves.

“Hey, sweetie!” Pam’s sing-songy voice came through. Pam Waller could have been an elementary music teacher in another life. She just had the energy of a kind and nurturing woman, with her voice sounding like a flute. But, Anna had seen her when she is negotiation mode, and Dr. Jekyll goes away and Hyde comes out for a fight. “Are you done with the audition yet?”

“No, I just got here.” Anna replied, looking up at the building once again. Suddenly, she was envious of David when he fought Goliath.

“Oh,” Pam said. “I thought it was earlier today. Well, no matter. I have some good news for you, dearie!”

 _Oh great. More good news._ “What is it?”

“Well, guess what the best agent in the world was able to get you?” She paused for a millisecond before continuing. “A full-feature film audition! And I’m talking big leagues here, hon. The director is some unknown up and comer, but they have apparently slated Kate Winslet as the lead role.”

“Whoa, that’s amazing!” Anna tried to add excitement to her voice, but her nerves were still in control of the wheel. “When’s the audition?”

“Tuesday at 10 a.m.” That was three days from now. “I know, I know. It’s really soon, but they said it’s going to be a really informal thing. They’re mostly just interested in having a conversation with you and getting your vibe. So what do you think? Should I tell them to expect you?”

Anna let out a breath. “I don’t suppose you’ll let me think about it?”

“Anna, sweetie, you did hear me when I said it’s on Tuesday. If you don’t take this now, you might lost out on a great opportunity here.”

She’s right and Anna knew it. But it was hard for her to think about anything else at the current moment. “Ugh, fine.” She said, just wanting to get off the phone and get this audition over with.

“Great!” Pam sang her approval. “I’ll call them right now. Oh, and break a leg, dearie!”

And with that she hung up. Anna pushed the conversation out of her mind as she finally entered the building. _Time to break some fucking legs._


	5. Wonder Boy (Part 3)

“A toast to success!” Aaron announced with the biggest grin on his face. Anna raised her shot glass and mirrored his grin. “May this audition lead Anna straight to it!” And with that, they downed the shots.

Anna’s face twisted from the taste. “Wow, that was a stiff one.” She took a swig of water to help chase down the alcohol.

“It will only get easier with every shot you take!” Her friend, Carla, slapped her in the back.

It was Tuesday night. After her big film audition, Aaron and a bunch of her friends had decided to take her out for drinks to celebrate. Anna would have declined, but it had been a while since she had some fun, so she agreed to it.

“I think that means that you need more.” Kyle got up from their booth they were sitting at. “I’m gonna go hit up the bartender for another round. Who wants in?”

Carla chimed in, as well as Melanie and Whitney. “I better not…” Anna tried to say. But was met with several voices booing her or telling her to shut up.

“We are here for you, babe,” Kyle asserted, as he grabbed her hand. “And we are going to get you plastered, that I promise you.” And with that, he and Whitney pushed their way through the crowd and disappeared.

“Come on,” Aaron encouraged her. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“Well, I do have a show tomorrow.” Anna replied and then turned to her two friends. “As do you two.”

Melanie waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, please. I can handle my alcohol.”

“Besides,” Carla spoke up. “When’s the last time we went out and had fun?”

Anna held up her hands in surrender, clearly seeing that she was going to lose this war. “Alright, alright. But don’t call me when you have to call in sick tomorrow.”

The group managed to get at least 4 more shots in her as the night progressed. Anna could feel the effects of the alcohol taking over her. And of course, the drunker she got, the more she wanted to dance.

“Let’s go dance!” Anna shouted as she struggled to stand up.

Kyle and Carla cheered in agreement. They hadn’t had as much to drink as Anna had, but they were still on a good level. Melanie and Aaron were not as enthusiastic about the idea. Aaron, specifically, didn’t feel drunk enough to enjoy dancing.

“Oh, come on,” Anna grabbed his hand and tugged on it. “Where’s your sense of adventure now?”

The cheeky grin on her face was hard to refuse. Before allowing her to pull him to his feet, he slammed the rest of his drink down, hoping that it would give him more of a buzz. Melanie also joined her friends and they all made their way to the dance floor.

It was crowded. Obviously, it was a Manhattan bar, it was going to be crowded. But Anna let the music overtake her and she danced her heart out. Aaron couldn’t help but watch her dance like no one was watching. Normally, she was very careful not to attract too much attention to herself. Yeah, she was a theatre girl and she liked getting attention, but she liked to make herself appear like everyone else. But not now. Now, she was letting loose and letting her body move however it wanted. His eyes followed the movement of her hips, before he forced himself to look away. _Dude, not cool_. He thought to himself. _Don’t be that guy._

Soon, the night wound down and the group of friends were parting ways to go home. Kyle and Melanie had the munchies and were going to walk to the closest McDonald’s. Carla had already left with a guy she had met on the dance floor. Leaving just Aaron and Anna out on the sidewalk to find their way home.

Although, Anna was hardly in a state to get herself home. She swayed when she walked and her speech was very slurred. “Are you going to be okay?” Aaron asked her, concerned. He was feeling a good buzz, but he was not nearly as drunk as her.

“Pfft,” Anna scoffed less than smoothly. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” She reached out and balanced on his arm, so she could take off her shoes. “Why did I wear these torture chambers? My feet are gonna fall off.”

Aaron stood as still as he could to try and steady her. As she struggled to get her shoes off, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Anna was an independent spirit, but something as simple taking off her shoes was getting difficult for her. He checked her phone that he was holding. The Lyft he had ordered was just around the corner. “Well, luckily, your Lyft will be here soon.” He said. Without telling her, he made the decision to make sure she got home safely.

Finally, she got her shoes off, but then relaxed against his shoulder. “You smell good.” She remarked, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent.

 _So do you_ , he thought as he caught a whiff of her shampoo. But it was quickly drowned out by the alcohol lingering on her breath. “And you smell flammable.” He joked, as the car pulled up.

On the way to her place, she fell asleep against his shoulder. Sober Anna was not about to show affection, as she liked to joke, but drunk Anna doesn’t give a shit apparently. He couldn’t help but notice how perfect she fit against him, a protective arm draped around her. Her shampoo was more prevalent now. _Strawberries, maybe? Some sort of flower?_ It was more intoxicating than the shots they had chugged.

But they were just friends. Just friends. Nothing more.


	6. Wonder Boy (Part 4)

The sound of a loud bang startled Anna awake. When her eyes opened for the first time, a shot of pain ripped through her head. She closed her eyes and cradled her head in her hands, feeling a slight trail of drool at her chin.

“Sorry,” A familiar voice called. “Butter fingers.” With her eyebrows furrowed, she slowly opened her eyes, the sunlight coming from the windows burned her corneas. She was on her couch, still wearing the clothes from her night out. Her cat, Robert, jumped down from where he was laying from in between her legs. Anna’s mind went as fast as it could through her daze. _What the fuck happened last night?_

The sound of feet coming toward her made her lift her head, though she still could only squint. Aaron was smiling down at her with the signature mega-watt smile. “Well, good morning, sleeping beauty!” He greeted loudly and over the top.

His words seemed like a hammer pounding on her head. “Oh, god, why are you screaming?” She returned her head to her hands and groaned in pain.

Aaron giggled, amused by seeing her in such a state. “I’m just glad you joined the living. I was about to call a funeral home.”

“That sounds like a really good idea.” Anna moaned into the throw pillow she laid on. “Don’t let me stop you.”

Again, he smiled. Then he lightly hit her foot, to which she loudly exclaimed in either pain or shock. “Come on, I made you breakfast.”

“You did what?”

“Breakfast. You know, the most important meal of the day. It will cure that hangover, I promise.”

She lifted her head and gave him a puzzled look. “You cook?”

Aaron shrugged. “Sometimes. I had to make do with what you had besides frozen dinners and pasta. But I was able to rustle up something.”

Anna groaned and muttered, “Wonder Boy, you are perfect.” She rolled over on her side in attempt to try and get up.

“Well, I don’t know about that.” He said, grabbing a hold of her hand and gently pulling her onto her feet. “But I do make a mean breakfast skillet.”

After stumbling a little and groaning in protest a lot, Anna was able to plant her feet flat on the floor. Aaron held on to her arms to try and steady her. The whiff of her shampoo tickled his nose again. As she blinked a little, adjusting to the new altitude, Aaron bent his knees and met her eyes with his. “Hey,” He said with another breath-taking grin.

“Hi,” Anna couldn’t help but smile at this goofy guy. “You must be a morning person.”

“And you must need food. Come on.” He lead her to the kitchen and revealed that he had indeed made a breakfast skillet of some sort. He had set her little kitchen table up with orange juice and toast. The smell of bacon bounced around the room. It almost looked like something out of cooking show.

“What the fuck? Aaron, this is amazing.” She remarked, unable to hide how touched she felt. No one had ever made her breakfast like this.

Luckily, Anna was too enraptured by everything to see Aaron blush. “Why don’t you sit down and get some nutrients in you,” He encouraged, gesturing towards one of the chairs. She listened and sat, suddenly realizing how hungry she was. “You’re going to need it after the night you had.”

Now, it was Anna’s turn to blush. But her brain was still dazed and confused. “Yeah, don’t judge me, I don’t really remember a lot after that third shot.” She admitted, purposefully avoiding his gaze. _Please don’t tell me I did anything embarrassing._

“Well, we had another round.” Aaron explained as he dished her up. “Carla found some guy straight from the Jersey Shore to hang out with. Then we basically just danced the night away.” He put a couple scoopfuls of the skillet on his plate, before sitting down and digging in to taste his hard work.

Fuzzy images of dancing and swaying pricked at Anna’s brain. “I guess it could have been worse.” She admitted. When the food went into her mouth, her entire body became awake. “Oh, my god!” She brought a hand up to her mouth as she savored it.

A look of alarm struck Aaron’s face. “What? Was it not cooked all the way?”

Anna violently shook her head. “No, this is ridiculously good.” Reluctantly, she swallowed, but immediately went for another spoonful. “Where the fuck did you learn how to cook like this? Gordon Ramsay?”

After letting out a sigh of relief, Aaron smiled. “I wish. Nah, it’s just an old recipe I’ve known since… I don’t know, college?” He finally ate and felt a wave of pride sweep over him. “Although, I do have to say, I did pretty good on this one.” He looked over and saw that Anna was now shoveling her food in her mouth like a starved orphan. “Whoa, take it easy. We want this to stay down, remember?”

Suddenly realizing that he was right, Anna swallowed and put her spoon down. Grabbing a glass of orange juice, another thought finally dawned on her. She shifted awkwardly in her chair; Aaron took notice.

“Did we… uh….” Anna bit her bottom lip and looked down at her lap, unable to ask this while looking Wonder Boy in the eye. _Just say it, you fucking wimp._ “Did we sleep together last night?”

Aaron almost choked on his food. “What?” He gasped.

“Well, why else would you spend the night?” She reasoned. “And make breakfast for me? Please don’t tell me I made a pass at you.” She started to cover her face in shame.

“No, no,” Aaron assured her. “Nothing like that. You just were barely conscious at the end of the night, so I took it upon myself to see to it that you got home safely.”

Anna took a moment to process this. She should be touched by his kindness, but for some reason, she did not allow herself to. “Then why did you stay the night? Where did you sleep?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I don’t know. I was just worried that you might choke or something in your sleep. When I got you through the door, you took it upon yourself to collapse on your couch. You seemed comfortable so I didn’t want to move you. And I just grabbed a couple of your throw blankets and parked on the floor.”

“You slept on the floor?” She asked incredulously. “Why not my bed or something?”

“Didn’t seem right.” He replied.

Anna shook her head. “It still doesn’t make any sense.”

Aaron regarded her with a perplexed expression. “Anna, are you trying to scold me for helping you out?”

“No,” She insisted. “No, I just think its odd for a guy to be so… cordial without expecting to get something out of it.”

Realization dawned on him. “Is that how you see this? That I am just here to get in your pants?”

“No,” Shame swept over Anna like an avalanche. She reached up to rub her temples. “No. God! I’m sorry.” She took a deep breath. “Clearly, I’m not used to…” Her hands gestured around her.

“Genuine friendship?” He said monotone.

Anna looked him in his killer blue eyes. She hadn’t really considered him a friend. That is, until now. “Yeah, I guess.” She chuckled nervously. “Does that make me a shitty friend?”

The look she gave him was enough to melt him into a liquid state. But he managed to keep his composure and smiled instead. “I think it means that you owe me one.” He leaned forward and took another bite of his skillet.

She returned his smile and raised a spoon. “To genuine friendship.” Aaron raised his spoon to hers, they tapped them together, and ate with the goofiest grins on their face.


	7. Abercrombie (Part 1)

“You are ridiculous!” Anna laughed, and playfully pushed the man’s shoulder.

“Cut!” The director yelled from his chair. “Can we readjust this lighting? They’re looking a bit yellow.”

Anna took a breath. It was a week into filming her first feature film. By some miracle, she had landed the role. Of course, due to scheduling conflicts, that meant that she had to withdraw from auditioning for Moulin Rouge. Aaron was a little disappointed when she had told him, but he assured her that he was happy for her to have an opportunity like this.

Today, she was filming a scene with her love interest, played by an actor named John Brigam. The two had gotten along well, since they had found out that this would be both of their feature film debut. Even though it was a week into filming, they had grown to be good friends.

John sighed and took a sip from a water bottle handed to him by a production assistant. “They didn’t tell me that filming was a lot of waiting around.” John remarked. “And just when it was gettin’ good.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “You’ve done better takes.” She joked.

“You jerk.” He spat with a chuckle.

“Okay, people.” The director called. “We’re good to go. Everyone go back to the top.” Anna and John took their marks and prepared to start the scene again.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Aaron was standing just beyond Anna’s sight, watching. Since they were filming New York, and he happened to have a day off of Moulin Rouge obligations, he wanted to drop by and surprise her. But he also wanted to watch her in action.

Aaron watched her pretend to flirt with her co-star. She would playfully hit him and laugh at his jokes, squinting her eyes and smiling at the ground. Then she would give him a retort that would make her co-star laugh in return. And when she would look away from him, even if it was just for a moment, the man would regard her in a way that many women would love to be looked at. Aaron realized that the scene stirred strong emotions in him.

 _What the hell?_ He thought. _She’s acting. Why am I feeling this way?_

“Cut!” The director’s shout interrupted his thoughts, almost as if breaking him out of a trance. “That’s lunch. Everyone, be back in an hour.”

_Thank god._

Anna started walking his way, distracted with talking with a production assistant. When she finally got close enough, he tapped her on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, miss? Can I get an autograph?”

She turned to face him and a smile instantly broke out on her face. “Aaron!” She gasped, indicating that she was in fact surprised. He was caught off guard by her smile that he didn’t see her arm swing as she punched him in the arm. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

A hand instinctively went to cover up where she hit him. “Well, I thought I would surprise you.” He made a dramatic pained face. “But had I known that I was going to get beaten up for it, I might have called first.”

Her blue eyes rolled. “You need to toughen up, bro. I barely hit you.”

“Well, do you maybe want to go grab some lunch?” He offered. “It’s the least you can do after practically putting me in the hospital.” He stuck out his bottom lip for extra measure.

“Fuck you,” She giggled. “Let me go get changed real quick. The nurse’s tent is just down there if you want a band-aid.” She gestured down the street and walked away.

Aaron watched her go, still smiling. He was not aware of John coming up behind him. “So, you know Anna?” John asked.

Aaron looked quickly over the man who addressed him. He was slightly shorter than him, maybe by a couple inches. The striped V-neck shirt he wore showed that he had a rather athletic build. He had a mop of brown hair that dangled in front of his emerald green eyes. The guy could have been a model for Abercrombie & Fitch. “Yeah, we’re good friends.” Aaron finally replied. He held out his hand for him to shake. “I’m Aaron.”

“John.” The man took a tight grip of Aaron’s hand and shook it. “Anna’s a great girl. I’ve only known her for about a week, but I know she’s a force to be reckoned with.”

“Yeah, she’s one unique woman.” Aaron felt a little defensive when he heard the word “girl”. He couldn’t stop himself.

John leaned in closer to Aaron, dropping his voice low. “Do you know if she’s seeing anyone?” He asked.

 _Don’t punch him._ “I don’t think so.” Aaron said, trying to keep his cool.

John smiled and gave the other man a friendly nudge with his elbow. “Do you think she’d go for someone like me?”

 _Don’t punch him._ “I really couldn’t tell you, man.”

With a shrug, John smiled to himself. “Well, only one way to find out, I guess.” Blessfully, he walked away, leaving Aaron to stare lasers into the back of his head.

 _What the fuck is happening?_ Aaron thought to himself. _Why am I so defensive? Why does that guy make me angrier than anyone else ever has?_

A hand on his shoulder made him jump, ready for an attack. But Anna stood there, clearly seeing the fire in his eyes. “Whoa, what’s eating you?” She asked.

Aaron shook his head and took a deep breath. “It’s nothing.” He replied. But then pushed a smile on his face. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” She said, regarding him carefully. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

After a slight pause, Aaron forced another pained look. “Yeah, I’m okay. Although, I think I have internal bleeding.”

“Oh, my god.” Anna giggled. “You are such a baby.”


	8. Abercrombie (Part 2)

“But then Kate goes, ‘I’m terribly sorry, but I think this is not mine.’” Aaron and Anna erupted into laughter. They were sitting in the Starbucks where they used to meet all the time. Anna was telling him all about filming, which was nearing its end. Currently, she was telling a funny story about when she was filming a scene with Kate Winslet, who was playing her mother.

Their laughter was interrupted by her phone buzzing. Anna looked and saw a text from John, a smile escaped her as she read it.

“What’s with the face?” Aaron asked, the smile on his face slowly dwindling.

She looked up at him and gave him a confused look. “What face?”

“That smile.” He said. “Who is the text from?”

“Just John.” Anna shrugged, as she opened her phone to respond back to him. She didn’t see the pained look on her friend’s face as she typed.

“You guys still going out?” He asked, shoving some pastries in his mouth.

Anna tried to hide a blush. They had only been on a couple of dates, but she couldn’t help but feel sort of embarrassed. “I guess. He’s just asking me to go for drinks this Friday.”

A familiar icky feeling stabbed Aaron’s stomach. “Do you like him?” He didn’t really want her to answer, but he couldn’t help but ask it.

She laughed. “It’s only been a couple of dates, Aaron. And they have been super chill.”

“Yeah, but you still smile every time he texts you. Not to mention, you get all fidgety when you talk about him.”

Without being able to control herself, she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “So?”

“So, why not just admit that you like him?”

Anna shrugged. “Why does it matter?”

Aaron looked down at the coffee in his hand. _Why does it matter? Just let it go, dude._ “I guess it doesn’t.” He took a sip.

She regarded his behavior, almost like she was studying him. “Do you not like him?”

“I don’t want to go out with him, if that’s what you’re asking.” He tried to joke, hoping to get her to change the subject.

It didn’t work. “You don’t, do you?” He didn’t answer and refused to look her in the eyes. “Why not? Is there something wrong with him?” 

“Anna, he’s fine. Can we just leave it?”

“No, I want to know. Do you know something that I don’t?”

Aaron sighed heavily. “I don’t know. There’s just something about him that just… rubs me the wrong way.”

He had never acted this way before. Vague, and standoffish. Anna didn’t like it. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. I mean look, the guy’s a fuckin Abercrombie and Fitch model. Usually those sort of guys are douchebags.”

“Normally, I would agree with you. But as far as I can tell, John isn’t.” Anna said. “What’s with you? You talk about me getting all fidgety. Every time I bring him up, you get all… I don’t know, not you.”

“I just don’t like him, okay?” Aaron said, annoyance laced in his voice. “Why does it matter?”

“I guess it doesn’t.” She mocked him. “This isn’t you, Aaron.”

“Can we just talk about something else?” He snapped.

Anna looked him over. Now frustration was apparent in his voice and body language. His brow was furrowed, his jaw was jutting out. If she didn’t know any better….

“Oh, no,” She groaned. “Please… please don’t tell me it is what I think it is.”

Aaron shrugged. “What?”

She looked him dead in the eye. “Are you jealous of him?”

Aaron scoffed dramatically. “Don’t flatter yourself, Anna.”

Anna could hardly believe her eyes. “Oh, my god. You are. But that doesn’t make any sense. I mean, you don’t…”

Silence fell between the two of them. Aaron, for the first time, realized the truth in her words. He was jealous. That’s why he never liked John. But of course, if he was jealous, that would mean that he had feelings for Anna. Something he had never realized. That is, until now.

“I think I should go.” Anna said, gathering her coat and coffee.

“No, you don’t have to.” He said, feeling the fight leave him. But she continued to gather her stuff and stand up. “Anna, wait.”

She didn’t listen. Anna got up and walked away, feeling her fight or flight instincts kicking in. She paused for a moment at the door. Everything within her told her not to look back at Aaron, but she did. Luckily, he wasn’t looking her way. A hand was combing through his hair, clearly in deep thought. Before he was able to lock eyes with her, Anna exited the Starbucks, unsure of what this meant for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have no worries, my friends! Things will turn up, I promise. Thanks for your support!


	9. The Dress

“Damn, girl!” Carla exclaimed as Anna made her way out of the dressing room and onto the mirrored platform. “Lookin hot as fuck!”

Anna regarded herself in the mirror. She wore a red formal dress with a modest golden belt around her waist. It fit rather nicely on her. Normally, she was not a curvy girl, but this dress made her look like it. Her and Carla were shopping for Anna’s premiere dress. In a few months, her film debut would be welcomed by a red-carpet premiere.

“Are you sure it’s not too much?” Anna asked turning this way and that, in order to get the full picture of the dress. Because she was not used to having curves, she suddenly felt very self-conscious.

“Hon, it’s your film debut. You need to make a statement.” Carla assured her, sipping the complimentary champagne. “You need something that says, ‘Hello, world. My name is Anna Lawson, and I am one hot bitch.’ And this dress says exactly that.”

Anna scoffed. “I think I need something a little more… simple.” Then, she happened to look at the price tag hanging from one of the sleeves. “Holy shit!”

“What?” Carla asked, getting up from her chair and went to her side. She saw the price tag in Anna’s hand. The price of the dress was $4,000. “It says it’s on sale.” She offered weakly.

“There is no way in hell I am buying a dress that costs more than my first car.” Anna said incredulously. “God, you practically smell the rich privilege on this thing.”

“Anna, you’re a movie star now.” Carla soothed. “And movie stars pay a ridiculous amount of money for clothes.”

Anna shook her head. “I am not a movie star. And I am not paying that much for a dress. We’ve got to look for something a whole hell of a lot cheaper.” And with that, she disappeared back in the dressing room.

Carla shook her head and chuckled. Anna was always a frugal person, but sometimes her frugality was a bit much. She went and sat down at in her chair she was sitting at before and looked at her phone. A text message from Aaron had come through. A devious smile spread over her lips. When Anna was distracted by looking at the dress in the mirror, Carla had snuck a picture of her and sent it to Aaron. She knew that they hadn’t talked in a month, but she was hoping to rekindle their relationship. _Anna is going to kill me,_ she thought.

>>>

Aaron was sweating profusely. He had upgraded his workout routines, in order to prepare for his role in Moulin Rouge. But boy, was he already exhausted.

He gasped for breath and gulped water down like it was his life source. He looked down at his phone, which had just buzzed. It was a text from Carla, Anna’s friend. A stabbing sensation ripped through his abdomen, and it was not from his workout. He missed Anna. How many times had he opened his phone to send her a text, but couldn’t find the words he wanted? Despite his better judgement, he opened the message from Carla.

It was a picture of Anna. She was turned toward the camera, but she was looking over reflection in the mirror over her shoulder. A red dress hugged her body that made her look like a radiant goddess. Anna was not one to show weakness to anyone at any given time. But the look she was giving her reflection put her in a rare vulnerable light. The caption underneath read:

_Second opinion?_

He locked his phone and wiped his neck with a towel. _Damnit, Carla. How am I supposed to concentrate now?_ Aaron wanted to forget about Anna. It was too painful to think of her with John. But that image of her looking at herself in the mirror was now burned in his brain.

Desperate to focus on anything else, he hopped back on the treadmill and started jogging. But no matter how fast he ran, there was no other thought in his mind, but Anna. After a couple minutes, he gave up and leapt off the treadmill. As he panted and wiped more sweat from his neck and brow, his eyes fell on his phone once again.

Before he had a chance to think about it, he replied back with the thumbs up emoji. Nothing wrong with that, he thought. Just a little emoji.

The phone buzzed again.

 _She saw the price tag and nearly fainted_. Carla replied. _Know of any cheap dress shops in town?_

He shouldn’t respond. He should put his phone away and get back to his workout. But he did.

_Thrift stores maybe?_

_Don’t even bring that up! She would go for that and you know it._

_Sorry I can’t be of further help._

Aaron locked his phone again. _Well, I guess the workout is done_ , he thought. He headed to the locker room to shower and change.

His phone buzzed again. _She misses you, you know_.

This time, he did not respond. How could he? What would he say?

 _I need a cold shower,_ he thought.


	10. Puzzle Piece (Part 1)

It had now been three months since Aaron and Anna had last spoken to each other. No texts, no Monday meetings, just radio silence. It was taking a toll on both of them. Though it would be hard for either of them to admit, they really missed each other. But of course, Anna especially would never come out and say that.

She was particularly sad when Carla, Kyle, and Whitney took her out for drinks. This time, they weren’t celebrating her. Carla had got a part in Hadestown, an up and coming musical that just hit Broadway. So the old gang got together for celebratory drinks. That is, the old gang minus someone…

“Congrats, babe,” Julian placed a sloppy kiss on Carla’s cheek. Julian was Carla’s new boo, and frankly, he grossed Anna out. He was loud and obnoxious, and his hair was so full of grease that it never moved. But Anna kept her opinions to herself, because Carla seemed happy.

“Ditto,” Anna raised her glass towards her friend and smiled despite her internal turmoil.

“Aw, thanks guys.” Carla beamed. “Y’all make a girl feel so gee dang special.”

“Okay, I can’t ignore this anymore,” Whitney declared. “Anna, when’s the big premiere?”

“Next month.” She replied. Somehow, her little movie was slated to show at Cannes Film Festival. It was a very surreal feeling for her, but she tried not to think about it too much. “It’s going to be nuts.”

“And we get invites, right?” Whitney stuck out her bottom lip and clasped her hands together.

“Obviously,” Anna scoffed. “You guys are my squad. I can’t do this without you guys.”

“And please tell me you got that red dress to wear for the premiere.” Kyle said. “Cause you looked so good in that.”

Anna’s brow furrowed. “What red dress?”

Carla had a guilty look on her face. “I, uh…. Might have sent the squad a picture of that red dress you tried on a while back. Remember the one that cost more than your first car?”

“You took a picture of me in that? When?” Anna asked, as Kyle got out his phone to show her. Anna saw herself turned toward the camera, but looking over her shoulder regarding her reflection. Her face turned a shade of pink.

“Why did you sneak a picture? You could have just asked for me to pose, you jerk.” Anna reached over and punched Carla in the shoulder.

“But you looked so good, with the lighting and everything.” Carla defended herself. “And to answer your question, Kyle, no, she did not purchase it. It was too pricey for her.”

“Ugh, I can’t believe it.” Kyle whined.

“Listen, I was not about to pay $4,000 for a dress I would only wear once.” Anna replied.

“But everyone who I sent it to loved it on you!” Carla said.

Something about the way she had said “everyone” made Anna a little wary. “Who’s everyone?”

Carla bit her bottom lip, realizing she might have said too much. She looked away from her friend. “Just Julian, and the squad…”

“And?” She demanded, knowing there was more.

“Aaron.” Carla admitted. “I can explain, though.”

“Carla, what the fuck?” Anna slouched back in the booth she was sitting in.

“Listen, he has been through the whole premiere thing, so I wanted to get his opinion on it. And he liked it, by the way.”

Anna rolled her eyes, annoyed at her friend. Leave it to Carla to but her nose into other people’s business.

“Are you still not talking to him?” Whitney asked.

“Girl, you are dumbass.” Kyle remarked. “He was one hot piece of ass that was into you and you let him slip through your fingers.”

“I don’t want to talk about this.” Anna threw up her hands. Suddenly, she was feeling cornered. “We’re here for Carla. Nothing else matters.”

“I’m sorry, Anna.” Carla said, reaching over and covering a hand over Anna’s. “We just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy! What are you talking about? I’m not moping around all depressed.”

“Alright, alright, alright,” Julian finally spoke up. “Who wants shots?”

“Yes!” Carla chimed in. Everyone else gave their verbal approval. That is, everyone but Anna.

“I’m going to go use the restroom really quick.” Anna announced. I just need to go splash some water on my face or something, she thought. She loved her friends and they meant well, but sometimes they were too much to handle.

Anna pushed her way through the crowded bar towards the restroom. People were either dancing or standing and talking with friends. And of course, they all seemed to be blocking the way to the bathroom. Jesus, can’t a girl just find some solace?

In her frustration of pushing through the crowd, she bumped some dude in the arm. “Oh, sorry,” She said, turning to face the dude. But when she did, her breath caught in her throat.

“Aaron.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, we're making progress!


	11. Puzzle Piece (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for those that made it this far! Here you have a fun chapter involving some DrunkAaron! and some other drunken antics. Enjoy!

The two of them stared at each other for the first time in what seemed like forever. There was an unspoken and unacknowledged sense of relief now that they were reunited. Like the final part of a puzzle piece coming together.

“Hey,” Anna said finally, offering a weak smile.

“Hey,” Aaron mirrored her smile.

Another silence fell. Jesus Christ, someone save me, Anna thought. “Long time no see, huh?” She tried to joke.

“Yeah, I guess.” Say something, you idiot, he thought. But no words came out.

“Carla didn’t invite you here, did she?” Anna asked, ready to kick her friend’s ass.

“No, believe it or not, this happens to be a public and popular bar people go to.” Aaron joked sarcastically. Anna laughed. It felt good to laugh again. Aaron was happy to see her genuinely smile again. It gave him some confidence in the situation. “But hey, how’s the movie going? When’s the premiere?”

“Next month. And it’s going good, I guess.” Anna felt a little more relaxed with him now. “Still doesn’t feel real.”

Aaron nodded. Then he shifted his focus down at his shoes. “And, uh… how’s…um…”

“John?” Anna finished the sentence for him. With a deep sigh, she said, “He’s fine, I guess. I wouldn’t really know these days.”

“Oh?” It was hard for him to hide the hope in his voice.

“Yeah, well. Turns out he was a douchebag.” She shrugged. “He loved to hear himself talk. And talk and talk and talk.”

Now it was Aaron’s turn to laugh. His blue eyes crinkled in the corners and Anna couldn’t help but cuckle with him. “Well, I’m sorry,” He said finally.

“No, you’re not.” She shook her head with a smile.

“Well, you’re right, I’m not.” He admitted with a chuckle. “But I am sorry about… you know. Everything else.”

Anna now looked down at her shoes. It was hard for her to apologize to anyone for pretty much anything. To apologize to someone indicates that you were wrong, and Anna did not like to admit that she was wrong. But this was different. “Me, too.” She said weakly.

Another moment of silence passed between them. So many words rolled around in their brains, but neither of them sure of which ones should be said next. “I need a drink,” Aaron finally declared. “Do you need a drink?”

“Yeah,” Anna laughed out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, actually I do.”

“Let’s get a drink, then.” He gestured towards the bar.

“Okay.” And they did. A newly repaired puzzle piece joined at last.

>>>>

“The game is True Confessions.” Anna said waving a beer around wildly. Aaron and Anna were at the bar, reconnecting after some time apart. Her friends had already seen them together and greeted Aaron with a warm welcome. But then they had disappeared rather quickly, knowing that the two of them needed some one-on-one time. “You must say a confession. It can be true or it can be a lie. The other person has to figure out if they are in fact lying or telling the truth. The loser has to take a drink.”

“Wait, so how do you determine the loser?” Aaron asked, unable to keep a bemused smile off of his face. She had already a couple beers and was feeling a bit tipsy. It was really entertaining to watch.

“So, let’s say I’m confessing something.” She explained. “You have to determine if I am lying or not. If you think I am lying, but I’m not, then you have to take a drink. But if I am lying, and you correctly guess that, then I have to take a drink.”

“Okay, I think I get it.” Aaron said.

“So, I’ll go first and show you how it’s done.” Anna cocked her head to the side as she thought. “I once worked as a secretary.”

“Okay,” Aaron gave her a quizzical look. “Am I able to ask questions?”

“Yeah, go for it. You have to find out if I’m lying or not?”

“Who did you work for?”

“Um, he wasn’t a lawyer… but he was involved in law.” Anna gave a thoughtful look. “I don’t really remember what his official title was. It was a while ago.”

“Uh-huh,” Aaron studied her closely. “And what did you do as a secretary?”

She shrugged. “Secretary stuff. You know, answer phone calls, fax things.”

“What were the uniform requirements?”

Anna scoffed. “I didn’t wear a sexy secretary outfit, you pervert!”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Aaron blushed hard and stumbled over his words. “I was thinking like some places like a hospital requires scrubs or something.”

“I already told you it was a law practice or something.”

“Okay, okay,” He held up his hands in surrender. “You must be telling the truth then.”

Anna smiled evilly. “Drink up!”

“No, you were lying?”

“Are you fucking serious? Can you imagine me taking orders from some rich asshole?” Anna laughed at the thought.

Aaron took a drink reluctantly. “Okay, then. My turn.” He stared down at the beer bottle as he thought. “I can clap with one hand.”

Anna fell to pieces in a laughing fit. “What?” She gasped, trying to get oxygen to her brain.

“I can clap with one hand. Truth or lie?” He stated confidently.

“What does that even mean?” Anna asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

“If I shake my hands up and down very quickly, it sounds like I’m clapping.” He had to work really hard to keep his hands still.

The look on her face was bewilderment. “When did you discover this… would you call it a hidden talent?”

“Yes, thank you very much.” He faked being offended. “And I don’t know. I’ve been doing it since I was little.”

Anna shook her head. “This can’t be the truth. You are lying.”

Very calmly, Aaron held up his hand and started to show off his hidden talent. He flailed his hands wildly, and as he did, it sounded like he was clapping. Anna’s jaw hit the ground. “Drink!” He declared as he continued to clap with one hand.

“What!” Anna was shocked. But she made a show about grabbing her beer in a grumpy way. “Fuck you, dude.” She took a large swig.

“This is a really good game.” Aaron smiled widely.

“Yeah, I’m ready to call it quits already.” Anna joked.

“Oh, come on, you sore loser.” He encouraged. “And anyway, it’s your turn.”

Anna let out a very dramatic sigh. “Fine. Um… I used to want to be a teacher?”

“That’s the truth. You already told me that!”

She threw her head back in frustration. “Oh, fuck, you’re right!” She took a drink. “Look, the clapping thing threw me off.”

“Yeah, likely story.” Aaron giggled. “My turn then.”

“And no more hidden talents or I’ll punch you.” Anna threatened.

“Alright, alright,” He thought carefully.

They continued playing the game until both were sufficiently drunk. Anyone observing them could see the connection between the two. The way that would each try to make each other laugh. And they did laugh, it was a genuine belly-laugh with some tears attached. No other pair seemed to be better suited for each other.

It was getting towards the end of the night. Anna’s friends had already left, not that Aaron or Anna noticed. But the bar was also clearing out. The time to go home was drawing closer.

They stumbled onto the street eventually, still giggling at nothing. Anna ordered a Lyft. “Do you want me to order you a Lyft too?” She asked her barely conscious friend.

“I’m a big boy,” he scoffed. “I can order my own.” He then tried to grab his phone out of his pocket, but hilariously kept missing his pocket.

Anna watched him struggle for a bit, amused by his pathetic attempts. “Oh, my god.” She finally said. “Nope, you’re gonna crash at my place.”

“What? I’ve almost got it.” He tried to protest.

“No, hon. It’s fine. I have a feeling you wouldn’t make it all the way to your place anyway. I live closer, so it just works out.”

Aaron sighed dramatically. “Yes, mom.”

The Lyft driver picked them up shortly after that. They ordered the Lyft driver to crank up the radio and they proceeded to sing all the songs at the top of their lungs. Anna kept apologizing to the driver, but then also continued to sing very obnoxiously. She decided to leave him a big tip for the trouble.

At long last, they made it to Anna’s apartment complex. Somehow they managed to make their way up the steps, which was difficult considering she lived on the fourth floor and there was no elevator. But they were able to make it to her door.

“I think I have some really baggy sweats that you could borrow.” Anna said, after they tumbled through the door.

“I can just wear this to bed.” Aaron shrugged and gestured to his t-shirt and jeans.

“Aaron, you can’t wear jeans to bed.” She scolded. “Let me go get those sweats and a pillow.”

Anna went to her bedroom to grab the necessary supplies. When she went to grab an extra pillow, she heard a loud thud in the living room. She ran to see what had happened and saw Aaron lying on the ground with pants halfway down. “Aaron, what the fuck did you do?”

“I tried to change out of my jeans like you said. But I guess I fell over.” Aaron explained.

Anna rolled her eyes and went to help him up. She put her arms under his armpits and pulled him up to sit on her couch. “Really didn’t think I was going to be babysitting tonight.” She grumbled as they moved.

“I tried to tell you that I could wear jeans.” Aaron said.

“Yeah, well, you know what, I’m not helping you put those pants on so we’re just going to forget the sweats.” Anna placed the sweats on her coffee table and grabbed a throw blanket for him.

“You’re so nice.” Aaron smiled. “I can tell you were the oldest.”

“Yup, but I haven’t had to change a diaper in forever and I am not going to start tonight. Lay down.” He listened and she spread the throw blanket over him. “Good night, kiddo.” She smiled and started to walk back to her bedroom.

But he reached up and grabbed her wrist stopping her. “Anna?”

“What? Are you going to throw up?” Anna asked.

“No,” he giggled. “Come here.”

“What?”

“Just come here.”

Anna rolled her eyes and knelt down so she was eye level with him. When she did, he snaked a hand behind her head and pulled her close. Their lips connected, and Anna was frozen with surprise. But it did not last very long. With the mixture of the alcohol in her system and after not seeing him for a while, she allowed herself to give in and kiss him back.

As they kissed, they both couldn’t help but feel like it was the final piece of the puzzle.


	12. Here We Go (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the love everyone! I'm so glad you are enjoying my little story here. Things are starting to get... well, let's say interesting with our two friends. :)

_Maybe if I lay still long enough, they’ll think I’m dead and leave me here._ Anna thought. She was laying down in the back of the limo. According to the stylist she had hired, all the stars do this in order to avoid wrinkles.

“Wrinkles don’t photograph well,” The stylist said, as Anna laid down on her back.

“Yeah, I’m sure wrinkles would ruin the mystique of Hollywood,” She grumbled. And now, here she laid, eyes closed. Like a corpse in the back of a hearse, instead of an actress wearing a rather pricey gown in a rented limo. The lull of the moving vehicle were somewhat helpful in distracting her from her nerves.

In mere moments, the limo would arrive at the premiere of her new film, and she would step onto her first red carpet. Her whole life was about to change. And terror possessed every inch of her soul.

“How are you feelin?” A concerned voice came from the other side of the limo. Anna had asked Aaron to accompany her to the premiere with clear instructions that it was just as friends not as dates. He had been to a few red carpets before, so she figured he would be a good person to help ground her. To show solidarity, he also lay down on his back.

“Sh,” Anna said. “I’m a corpse now. Let me rest in peace.”

Aaron smiled and looked over at her. She looked like a renaissance painting. Beautiful, graceful, and serene. “It’s not that bad.” He tried to tell her.

“Aaron, please,” Anna snapped. “I am not in the mood for your blinding optimism.” She felt bad yelling at him like that, since he didn’t do anything wrong. But her emotions were sky-high at the moment and hard to keep under control.

“It’s not optimism,” He was not hurt by her words. He knew that she didn’t mean it. “You just need to calm down.”

“Yeah, because that’s how panic attacks work. You can just tell them to calm down and it just happens.”

“Anna,” He reached out and grabbed a hold of her hand. She stiffened slightly when she felt his hand. They hadn’t really acknowledged or talked about the night when Aaron had drunkenly kissed her. Either he had blacked out or he didn’t want to talk about it. And she definitely didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to ruin their friendship. But it was hard to ignore the slight calm she felt when he did take hold of her hand. “Trust me, it’s going to be just fine.”

Her breathing was now very loud as she tried to breathe through her nose and out with her mouth. A calming exercise she had learned in college. “Everything is going to change.” She finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m going to step out on that carpet and the world will see this project I worked so hard on. And they’re either going to love it or they’re going to hate it. Either way, everything will change and…” Her voice trailed off.

His thumb gently rubbed her fingers. “It’s okay to be scared, you know.”

“I’m not scared.” She said almost automatically. “I’m just worried.”

“I know,” Aaron couldn’t help but smile at her defensive nature. “But there is good thing about tonight.”

“Yeah, and what is that?”

“You’ve got me.”

Her face scrunched as she wrestled with her giggles. “Oh, my god, you’re so egotistical,” She managed to say. “Okay, point taken. I’m sorry I’m such a basket case.”

“I know what I signed up for.” He told her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

A moment later, the car stopped. “Do me a favor tonight.” Anna finally opened her eyes and looked into her friend’s bright blue eyes. “Don’t let me fall.”

“Never.” He said with all the seriousness he could muster. The door to the limo opened and the sound of shouting reporters and fans washed over them. _Here we go._

Anna never let go of Aaron the whole night. It was like he was her crutch, helping her stay upright and steady. They posed for pictures as the reporters kept screaming at her to look this way and that. She placed a pleasant smile on her face, trying to hide how petrified she felt.

Aaron could feel her trembling. Every once in a while, he would lean over and whisper a funny joke in her ear to try and make her laugh. When she did, the cameras fired off like gunshots in the middle of a war. No doubt trying to capture how beautiful she looked when she laughed. He held her close, trying to show her that he was going to hold to his promise and never let her fall.

When it came time to give interviews, she refused to let go of him. Of course, they kept getting questions on whether or not they were together or not. But they would deny it and laugh it off. But it was clear to everyone how into each other they were.

After signing a bunch of fan’s posters and taking so many selfies with them, the two of them made it inside the theater. When they were out of sight of cameras, Anna let out a dramatic sigh of relief and clung to Aaron’s arm. “I thought that would never end.” She said, finally feeling like she was able to relax. Before he knew it, she threw her arms around him. “Thank you for being here with me.” She whispered to him.

He wrapped his arms around her small body and held her like she was a life raft. “Anytime.”


	13. Here We Go (Part 2)

Anna has been to several parties before. Lord knows, in college she had hit the party scene so many times she practically had a stamp card. When she was invited to the premiere party for her new film, she was expecting something a bit more sophisticated than college parties. But it turns out, the only difference between the two is that people are more dressed up at movie parties.

Loud music blared through the venue and the wait staff was constantly walking around with champagne and/or shots on trays. It was amazing.

Anna and Aaron indulged to their hearts delight. Partying alongside Anna’s costars and other celebrities that had happened to attend the premiere. (Anna had cried hysterically when she ran into Zooey Deschanel.)

It was a night of pure happiness. Anna had received a bunch of compliments from the film and it seemed that most of the audience seemed to absolutely love it. Aaron tried to argue that he didn’t cry at the end, but they both know that he did.

Finally, it was the end of the night. The two of them had tired themselves out and were ready to call it a night. Their limo came to pick them up and bring them back to their hotel. In the limo, they shared one more bottle of champagne they had stolen from the party.

When they made it back to the hotel, they collapsed on their adjacent beds with stupid grins on their faces. “Did you have fun tonight?” He asked, looking over at her.

She rolled onto her side, bent her arm to bring her hand up to her cheek, in order to rest her head on it. “Yes, actually I did.” Anna’s smile was so big that her face hurt. “It was a night to remember.”

“Me, too.” Aaron mirrored her position. “I’ll never forget doing the Cupid Shuffle with Kate Winslet.”

Anna laughed at the memory. “Yes! If you had told ten year old me, that I would one day be dancing alongside Rose from Titanic, I probably would have punched you in the face for lying.”

“You probably would have punched me anyway.” He teased.

“You’re right. You have a very punchable face.” She joked back. They laughed a little and laid in content silence. Then Anna sat up. “Do you want to see what the mini-bar has to offer?” She asked him with a devious look on her face.

“Aren’t those expensive?” He asked.

“Yeah, it’s a good thing that the movie is paying for this room, huh?” She said, hopping off the bed and walking towards the counter with the mini-bar.

“Fine, you look over the mini-bar. I need to get out of this monkey suit.” He said unbuttoning the first few buttons on his dress shirt. He rifled through his suitcase to grab a t-shirt and sweats and went to the bathroom to change.

Anna chugged a couple of the mini bottles, before she decided that she was tired of being dressed like a Barbie. She started to remove the bobby pins from her hair. It reminded her of all the theatrical performances she’s been apart of in the past. As much fun as it was to dress up in costumes and pretend to be someone else, there was nothing more satisfying than the part when she got to “de-beautify” herself.

Aaron came out of the bathroom. His breath stalled for a brief instant, seeing her looking at herself in the mirror behind the dresser, removing the pins from her hair. Little strands of hair fell to her shoulders with every pin she removed. And she looked absolutely beautiful. But he caught himself quickly and said, “Now, I can breathe.”

“Speak for yourself,” Anna said, smiling and removing the last pin from her hair. “You’re not wearing a corset.” She shook her hair mostly to make sure there were no hidden pins. Aaron watched her blonde hair dance with the movement of her head.

“Well, then get out of it. And then we’ll drink to your success.” He joked and forcing himself to look away. If he kept staring, he might have to grab her and kiss her.

“If you insist,” She joked, grabbing her pjs out of her suitcase. She started toward the bathroom, but a thought struck her instantly. When she had gotten into the dress, her stylist had laced her corset up for her. Mostly because it was at the part of her back that was hard for her to reach. She bit her bottom lip and contemplated if it was really worth it getting out of this dress. “Can you… Can you help me?” Anna asked, unable to hide a blush from her face.

Aaron looked at her, almost hoping that she was kidding. “What?”

“The laces.” She tried to look directly at him, so he wouldn’t see her blush. “They’re hard for me to reach.”

He sat frozen for a second. “Are you sure?” He asked, his heart beating out of his chest.

Anna rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “Aaron, I’m not asking you to completely undress me. I’m asking you to just help me undo the laces.”

Aaron jumped to his feet. “Okay,” He said, swallowing hard and walking slowly towards her.

She pointed to her back. “They’re in the back here.” She turned to grant him better access and pushed her hair over to one shoulder.

He hesitated at first, almost feeling like he was about to cross some forbidden threshold. Oh, come on, it’s just laces, he thought. He started to gently tug at the strings and unloop them from the hooks.

Anna’s heart was no beating out of her chest. There was something incredibly intimate about this act, and chills went up and down her spine.

Aaron’s fingers were trembling. He tried not to look at her bare back and hair tossed over one shoulder. He noticed that her breathing was becoming labored. There was something magnetic in the air and they both could feel it.

With the laces getting looser, Anna clutched the front part of her dress so it wouldn’t fall completely. She suddenly felt a hand stroke her back gently and her breath stopped. Wherever his hand went, goosebumps followed it like a rash. She turned slowly to face him, when she did both of their eyes locked onto each other. There were no thoughts in either one of their heads. No worries or doubts. Only feelings.

Their lips collided and they clung to each other, like they were reunited lovers. Even though Anna’s breath had left her long ago, his breath helped supply her. Her hands gripped his hair, his hands caressed her neck and body. Their tongues danced the tango and explored the other mouth. It continued this way until they had to separate to breathe.

They did not let go of each other and rested their foreheads against each other, gasping for breath. “What is happening?” He panted.

“I don’t know.” She said, smiling. Every cell in her body was awake and craved him like a hunger.

“Do you want to stop?” He asked, tilting her head to look at him.

She stared back at him and shook her head. “No.”

Their lips reconnected and they melted in each other’s embrace.


	14. The Pull (Part 1)

Blissful rest surrounded Aaron like a warm blanket. There were no dreams, but just feelings. Good feelings. There have been few times in his life when he recalled feeling this way. A few times throughout his childhood, once or twice in college, but very rarely has it occurred in adulthood. But here it was, a cocoon of happiness.

Eventually, he slowly opened his eyes. When he did he heard rustling in the near distance. He opened his eyes in hopes to find a sleeping Anna next to him. But he just stared at an empty space, a body indent still remaining. He turned over on his back to see Anna awake, fully dressed, and placing make up in a pink polka dotted baggie. Her back was to him, so she did not notice him stirring awake. He stretched and yawned. “Good morning,” he said, rubbing the blissful sleep from his eyes.

Anna looked over her shoulder. “Oh, good, you’re awake.” She said, very matter of fact. “Check out is in a couple of hours so you better start gathering your stuff.” She turned back to packing up her belongings.

He pushed himself up and sat still watching her. She seemed to always move with a certain grace about her, like an aggressive ballerina. He smiled a little. “I was hoping we would have a lazy morning.” His tone was very suggestive.

Anna didn’t seem to register it. “I don’t want to leave anything behind.” She zipped up her baggie and placed it in her luggage that was sitting on the other bed.

“What’s the rush? You said so yourself, check out isn’t for a couple of hours.” He spoke as he slipped on his boxer shorts that had been haphazardly discarded on the floor from last night. Then he moved to close the distance between them. “Why don’t we order room service?” He reached to grab her around her waist.

But she wiggled from his grasp like he was a leper. “Aaron, please,” She went to walk to the bathroom. “Besides, I’m not that hungry anyway. Just gather up your stuff. Let’s go.”

Aaron stood slightly stunned. Did he imagine what happened last night? Anna was a completely different person this morning than what she was last night. “Did I miss something?” He asked aloud, leaning against the door to the bathroom. “Why are you acting this way?”

“I told you, I don’t want to forget anything.” She refused to look up at him. She knew that if she did, she would see his half-naked body and feel the memory of his touch.

“Anna,” His tone was now demanding. Anna paused her movements, still trying her best to not look at him. “What the hell happened? Don’t you remember last night?”

“I don’t know what your talking about.” She said weakly.

“Okay, well might I remind you of what happened?” He moved to stand behind her. “By my count, it happened at least three times.” He again attempted to hold her to him, but she twisted out of his grip once again and faced him.

“Aaron,” She took a pause making sure to breathe. Her hands were held out in front of her as she gathered her thoughts. “Okay, look.” Now, she dared to look him in the eyes. “I acknowledge what happened last night for what it was. We were both consenting adults that were caught up in alcohol and euphoria. But I think for the sake of our friendship… we need to just continue with our lives and forget about it. Okay?”

Aaron couldn’t help but wear his confusion like a mask. “What do you mean? How has anything changed?”

Anna chuckled slightly, trying to alleviate some levity. “Everything has changed, dude. Look, I’ve been down this road before. And it doesn’t end well for either of us.” She then walked back into the main room, trying to escape the close proximity of the bathroom. Aaron followed right behind her.

“What do you mean you’ve been down this road before?”

“I mean that I have been friends with somebody. It started out as a genuine friendship where we really cared about each other and we like spending time with each other. Then inevitably feelings start to develop and things get…. well, physical and… Things just start to get messy. And then things inevitably blow up and you’re left to pick up the pieces.” She slowed her movements down as she took another breath. “And you say that you’ll stay friends and it won’t be awkward, but once you’ve seen each other naked, how can it not be awkward? Anyway, it’s just better for everyone involved that we… draw a veil over the events that transpired.”

Aaron crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. His mind was racing wildly. Anna had to look away again. From the crossing of her arms, his unclothed torso made his arm muscles bulge out slightly, forcing a chill down her spine. “I asked you if wanted to stop.” He finally said. “You said no.”

“I know.” Anna nodded. “I am not going to place all the blame on you. Like I said, we were both consenting adults just swept up in the moment.” 

“No,” Aaron stated. Something in his tone forced Anna to stop and look at him again.

“No?”

“No, that’s bullshit.” He felt his blood boil slightly. “You’re just scared.”

“Scared?” She laughed it off. “Why do you keep telling me that? I’m not scared, okay?”

“Yes, you are, Anna. You’re scared that this could actually turn into something and now you’re running away from it.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I’m not running away.”

“Really? Because here’s how I am seeing things. There has been this… connection between us ever since we first met. I’ve felt it and you’ve felt it. And last night… I know for a fact you felt the same way. It wasn’t euphoria or the alcohol, it was the sex. And it was fucking incredible. Now, you are trying to distance yourself from me or from your feelings or whatever it is, because that way you don’t have to get hurt.”

“Well, I guess you’ve got me fucking figured out then, huh?” It was now her turn to cross her arms. “I’m scared of sex?”

“No, you’re scared of your feelings for me.” He took a couple steps toward her as she set her jaw in defiance. He decided to take a softer tone. “If it helps, I’m scared, too. I’ve never felt this… pull before. And I know that you feel it, too.”

Anna didn’t say anything. Of course, there was a pull. They were practically human magnets. Every time they were apart, they wanted nothing more than to be back together again. She felt the pull all the time, but it was especially strong in this moment.

“We don’t have to give it a name if you don’t want to.” Aaron continued, slowly walking towards her, unable to resist the pull. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. And if you truly want to not take this further, then I will agree to it. But you have to give me an honest reason, not some bullshit excuse.”

He was now mere inches away from her. Her arms still crossed her torso, but now it was more of a defensive tactic, like she was hugging herself. She knew he was right, but she was not about to admit that. Anna was a stubborn mule about a lot of things, but especially her feelings. He stood there, patiently waiting for her next move. She had to think of something to say.

“You need to put a fucking shirt on, bro.” She finally said, unable to suppress a smile. “It’s very distracting.”

Aaron couldn’t help but smile and let out a chuckle as well. He had barely realized that he was only in boxer shorts. And of course, Anna was going to make a joke when he was trying to have a serious conversation. In truth, he was sort of relieved that there was finally some levity. “Distracting, huh?” He chuckled.

“Yeah, hard to have a real conversation talking to a goddamn half-naked Hercules over here.” She gestured to him and giggled some more.

He started to stretch and pose in dramatic poses, showing off his arms. “I didn’t realize you were super into all this.”

“Stop it,” Anna gasped through her fits of giggles. “You are so conceited.” She tried to push him off-balance, but he stood his ground. Instead, he seized the opportunity he had been trying to get at all morning. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. Due to her laughing state, she did not resist this time. In fact, she almost melted into his arms. She let out a squeal and giggled some more, feeling the fight exit out of her.

They stilled for a moment, both wrapped up in each other’s embrace. Her head resting on his torso, him resting his chin on top of her head and holding her tightly to him. Again, he caught a whiff of her shampoo.

“I’m not scared.” She finally said. He loosened his grip only to allow her to face him. “But I am worried.”

He smiled again. There she was, his strong girl trying not to appear weak in any way. But looking into her eyes, he could see her true emotions. She was not as hard to read as she wanted to think. “Does that mean we’re going to give this a shot?”

“I don’t know what it means. I think we should see where this takes us.” She wrapped her hands behind his neck. “I can’t promise that I won’t be a neurotic mess, though.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Finally, they kissed.


	15. The Pull (Part 2)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are some sexy times that transpire here, so be warned. But I hope that it lives up to your expectations. Thanks again for your support and love! Your comments and kind words mean the world to me!

Aaron slid his hands down Anna’s arms, sides, around her waist and onto her ass. Anna’s hand tried to mirror his movements, but also couldn’t stop tugging and pulling on his hair, which would cause his movements to bolden and his grip tighten. He pushed his body into hers up against a wall, as his lips moved to her neck and made their way down past the opening of her V-neck t-shirt. Her breath quickened, feeling his lips dance upon her collarbone. He found a place to suck on, that somehow caused her lungs to quit working.

“Oh, you are playing fire.” She panted with a smile.

“Hmm,” he growled, “Then go ahead and burn me.” He clamped down on that spot as you yelped in both pain and excitement. There was going to be a mark there, but Anna couldn’t seem to care at the moment.

He let go of her neck and hovered his lips over hers. She tried to connect them, desperate for his touch, but he held her back against the wall and just out reach. “You’re a little over-dressed.” The look in his eyes was enough to send Anna over the edge, but she had to wait and savor it.

“Then why don’t you do something about it?” She whispered, unable to find her voice. She also raised one teasing eyebrow, which was enough for Aaron to close the gap between them once again. As their mouth refamiliarized themselves, his hands went under her shirt, exploring the skin hidden beneath. Anna felt all the cells in her body come alive as his hands moved over them.

They broke apart only long enough to get Anna’s shirt out of the way. Aaron tossed somewhere in the room, returning to her sinful mouth. Her hands explored his torso, reading every ridge and bone like she was reading braille. She slipped a hand in between them and into his boxer shorts. He gasped and gripped her wrist stopping on her from going much further. She whimpered to which he responded by saying, “All in good time,” in a husky deep voice.

He placed his lips on her neck once again and began to work on unbuttoning her jeans. Who the fuck did he know where all of her “spots” were? Anna was aroused but also mystified that he seemed to have a homing beacon for how to mold her into what he wanted. Somehow, time seemed to go both slow and fast. It seemed like his hands were removing her pants slowly, but also seemed like he was ripping them off. Once they both successfully removed her jeans, lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her to the bed. She took this time to return the favor and find his spots on his neck. A gasp from him told her that she had found the spot.

But by then, they had reached the bed. He threw her onto the bed, already missing her body against his. She gasped once she hit the bed, but adjusted herself by propping her upper body onto her elbows. “Take them off.” She commanded nodding to his boxer shorts.

He didn’t have to be told twice. Aaron followed orders and crawled over her body slowly, drinking in her slim figure with his eyes. He placed another searing kiss on her lips before pulling away for a second to say, “Your turn.”

She flipped the two of them over. She straddled him and sat up, but not before giving him one more kiss. Anna’s hands went behind her back as she unhooked her black laced bra. Aaron watched the whole time with wide eyes and an open gaping mouth. Anna felt like a goddess in his eyes, and slowly removed her bra to give him a little show. As she did, she smiled and bit her bottom lip.

Aaron couldn’t take it anymore. He sat up and connected their lips once again. He felt her breast against his chest, which was barely containing his beating heart.

He then flipped them over and pushed her arms to the bed. “Stay.” He ordered, as he made his way down her body with his lips, worshipping every inch of her body.

Her back arched under his touch. Her hands gripped a pillow, so she could try and obey his command.

His lips traveled down her jawline, her neck, stopping for a moment at that one spot which caused her to gasp and moan. Then from her neck, he went to her collarbone down to her chest, placing kisses in the valley between her breasts. Within seconds, his lips engulfed a nipple and his tongue began to dance upon it. Anna gasped and instinctively gripped his hair. His lips released her nipple and he pushed her arms back up against the bed. “You need to learn how to listen.” Aaron said, his lips just above hers.

She whimpered again. “Please,” She pleaded. At this point, she was unsure exactly what she was pleading for, but it was a deep need welling up from deep within her.

“Listen,” He repeated and went back to clamp on her nipple. Her body arched as she groaned, making him smile against her breast. He enjoyed the way she responded to him. One hand held one of her arms down while the other squeezed and fondled the other breast. His hands were like magic and it awoke every cell in Anna’s body. She tried to keep her arms still, but was finding that it was getting more difficult. The hand giving her right breast attention, eventually made its way down to her underwear, which by now was soaking wet. Aaron let go of her nipple to gasp, loving how wet she was for him.

“I need you,” Anna gasped. The one hand that he wasn’t holding down went to cup his face. “Please, Aaron.” He gave her a wicked smile and made a beeline for her lips. Kissing her feverishly, he pushed her underwear down her legs. Anna groaned when she felt him press his hardened cock against her.

He reached over to the night stand and grabbed one of the condoms he had left laying there from last night. He broke away from her to place it on himself, while Anna took in the sight of him. Sweat glistened off of him, making him shine in the sunlight that peaked in through the curtains. He was beautiful to her.

After the condom was put in place, he returned back to her embrace, their lips drinking each other in.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Oh, god, yes.” She moaned.

He positioned her hips just so and slowly filled her up. Anna groaned as she felt him enter her, filling every part of her. Aaron waited for her to adjust to him before moving his hips.

They had just been talking about how there was this pull between them. Even now, as they were joined together, the pull felt magnified. Like the volume was turned all the way up. It just seemed right, like it was meant to be. It was almost as if each of them were created just for each other. Maybe there was someone out there, playing God, and making soulmates for every person in their doll house. Maybe it was just the way the world worked. But whatever it was, for Aaron and Anna, it was magnetic.

Within minutes they were both yelling curses of pleasure into the hotel room. They stilled in each other’s embrace, letting the state euphoria rain over them like a rain storm. He rested his forehead against hers, both exchanging oxygen for each other. Their hands slowed against each other’s bodies. Still exploring, but now it was more like they were trying to memorize every part of the other’s body.

After a couple of minutes, Aaron pulled out and rolled off to the side of her. They both laid on their backs, trying to catch their breath. The sound of their breathing was the only sound in the room. They felt no pressure to speak, not yet anyway. They were still feeling the ecstasy of each other’s embrace.

A knock on the door made them both jump. “Hey, Anna, darling,” Before either of them could react in time, Anna’s agent, Pam, entered the room. She rounded the corner and saw the two of them laying the bed wearing only their birthday suits. “Oh! I’m sorry.” She immediately shielded her eyes with her hand and started to back out of the room again.

Anna quickly grabbed a blanket and threw it over herself, while Aaron dove for a discarded towel sitting on the ground. “Pam, what are you doing?” Anna asked, feeling her whole body turn red.

“Check-out is in an hour.” She called from the other side of a now closed door. “Listen, I’ll just wait in the lobby and let you kids finish packing. I’m sorry again.”

Aaron rose and locked the door behind her, the towel now wrapped around his waist. He turned to face the now covered Anna who had buried her face in her hands.

“Oh, my god.” She groaned in embarrassment. “Oh, my god, I can’t believe that happened.”

“It’s fine, Anna. It was only Pam.” Aaron tried to assure her.

“You never locked the door?” Anna said, removing her face from her hands and staring lasers into Aaron.

“I thought you did.” He held up his hands to show his innocence.

“You were the last one in last night.” She blamed, feeling absolutely flabbergasted. Her hands returned to her face as she grumbled, “I will never be able to look her in the eye again.”

“Hey, it’s fine.” Aaron sat down next to her on the bed. “I’m sure that’s not the only time that’s happened to her.”

“Yeah, but that’s never happened to me!” She never felt so ashamed. There was a moment of silence before they both fell into a fit of laughter, as if on cue.

“Oh, my god.” Anna said, still smiling. She glanced over at Aaron. “We’ve gotta be more careful.”

“Apparently,” He nodded. He then rolled onto his stomach, his face just inches from hers. “I promise, I am going to lock the door of any room that we enter.”

“Well, that’s rather presumptuous of you.” She said, raising another teasing eyebrow. He gave her a gentle kiss.

Yeah, something about this just felt right.


	16. Montage

Well, cue the cheesy romantic montage. Anna and Aaron went on to have some sort of unlabeled fling. For the next few weeks, they were practically inseparable. They kept their fling under wraps, even from their friends. Careful not to be too obvious about it in public. But would steal glances and smirks every once in a while.

They even introduced Aaron’s dog, Miles, to her cat, Robert. Anna was nervous about it, due to the fact that Robert had some anxiety problems and did not much care for dogs. But Miles turned out to be a very calm and respectful dog. He would just sit and watch Robert freak out. Eventually, Robert worked up the nerve to go and sniff him, Miles staying very still so he wouldn’t alarm him.

“The kids are alright, I guess,” Anna joked as she watched with pride as the two animals interacted. Soon, the two of them grew to be best buddies. Robert would pick fights with Miles who was much larger than him, and Miles would indulge him a little, being careful not to play too rough.

Anna had a few press junkets and promotional events to go to for her movie, and Aaron was often her date. That is if he didn’t have any scheduling conflicts with Moulin Rouge. The rehearsals were getting more frequent and more intensive. But at the end of the day, they would take turns of which apartment to crash at.

For instance, Anna and Aaron were at a promotional party hosted by one of the sponsors for her movie. They posed in front of the many cameras, clinging close to each other. He wore a nice suit and she wore a nude colored cocktail dress that accentuated her waist just right. She looked amazing. So amazing that Aaron kept sneaking a hand down and grip her ass, trying to get her to react. She would then jab in the foot with her heels. It was hard for her to keep a blush off her face when he did it. Aaron maintained a smug look on his face, smiling for the cameras.

“You are going to pay for this later,” She said through her smile careful not to move her lips.

“Counting on it.” He would reply.

When they were finally away from cameras, he pulled her into one of the coat rooms and steal a few kisses. They were like teenagers, giggling and sneaking around, careful not to get caught by any prying eyes.

“You need to behave yourself, sir,” She scolded him in between kisses.

“With a dress like this, can you blame me?” He peppered kisses down her neck.

She giggled. “Stop it.” She said with absolutely no conviction behind it. “We need to get out there before someone comes looking for their coat.”

“Do we have to?” He whined, showing her his bottom lip for emphasis.

“You are such a baby,” She smiled, placing that bottom lip in between hers. Then, she leaned in and whispered into his ear, making sure to drop her voice nice and low. “We’ll make up for lost time later.” For extra measure, she gave his ear a little nip.

Chills traveled up his spine, as she pulled him out of the coat room behind her.

This was a scene that was very frequent between the two of them. They were supposed to be professional, but they used these types of events to play footsie or some sort of secret game to get each other excited. And if anyone was paying that close of attention, they would catch on very quickly. Some people would call attention to it, but they would deny it up and down. It was just like any other cheesy romance movie where the main couple first get together, and some fun indie music plays over their antics.

It all brought them to one morning. Anna always woke up later than Aaron. He had rehearsals to get to, and the promotional events were starting to die down for her. She awoke from her blissful rest and turned over in her bed expecting to find a sleeping body next to her. Instead, she saw Robert curled in a little furball asleep. Though, he stirred a little when he felt the bed shift with her.

Anna lifted her head to look around the room, but she knew the truth of it. Aaron had already gone. She reached for her phone to see what time it was and saw that Aaron had sent her a text.

 _You looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you. Should be done by 4 today. Can’t wait to see you then!_ :)

A goofy smile spread across her face. She felt so happy and content with the way her life was going. She really cared about Aaron and could hardly imagine her life without him.

 _Awfully lonely without you here._ She sent back. _Hurry back._

Anna then got up and made herself some coffee. While it was brewing, Robert was crying to get fed, so she gave the poor little furball some food. Miles came around and tried sniffing Robert’s food.

“No, Miles,” Anna told him firmly. “That’s Robert’s food, not doggo food.” She then encouraged him to follow her in the kitchen, where she gave him a scoop of dog food. As the two animals chowed down on their food, she couldn’t help but smile at how blessed she truly felt. _Two amazing little guys and one amazing big guy._

In the middle of sipping her morning coffee, she received a call from her agent, Pam.

“Good morning, darling!” Pam sang into the phone. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, I was up,” Anna replied after a mouthful of coffee. “How are things?”

“Things are just splendid, dear. Absolutely splendid. I hope you are sitting down.”

“Alright, shoot.” There was a weird feeling that hung in the air as her agent spoke.

“So, you know that big name producer that sent you that amazing fruit basket after Cannes? Of course, you do. Well, I was just speaking to him on the phone and he is offering you a role in his next big movie, girl!”

A moment of stunned silence followed. “What?” Anna finally managed.

“He is offering a role. Not auditioning, not considering, offering! How exciting is that?”

“I… uh, I mean….” Words seemed to escape her as her mind tried to make sense of the situation at hand. She was being offered a role?

“I know, I know. You’re too stunned for words. Well, I just emailed the script to you so you can look it over. But he is a very anxious man, so he’ll want your answer by next week at the latest.”

“Pam, are you actually serious right now?”

“Yes, sweetie! You are going to be a bona fide Hollywood legend. Just like all the great actors and actresses before you. Oh, and speaking of, they’re going to film it in Hollywood. Isn’t that exciting, too?”

Suddenly, Anna was slapped with reality and brought back to Earth. “They’re filming in California? For how long?”

“Yes, California. Unless you know of a different Hollywood. And I think Jerry said that filming would be about 6-8 months. And that’s without the training period, of course. It’s going to be the next big action flick and…”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down.” She was now pacing her apartment. Mind racing a million miles a second. “So this will be about a year of my life?”

“Yeah. Is there something wrong, sweetie?”

 _Well, how about the fact that I have a cat and a…. boy here…_ “I guess not. I think I’m just still shocked by this whole thing.” She let out a forced chuckle to try and assure her agent.

It worked. “I know, I know, it’s a lot to take in. Listen, just look over the script I sent you and think about it. Like I said, he wants your answer by next week, so you have some time to think it over.”

After exchanging pleasant goodbyes, Anna hung up the phone and stood staring at the floor. She struggled a little with geography in school, but she knew that California was nowhere near New York. If she went to California for a year, she wouldn’t be able to see Aaron a lot. Sure he would visit when he could. But he had his own responsibilities with Moulin Rouge. He couldn’t and wouldn’t just quit that. What was she going to do?


	17. Bubble

“Boston?” A thickness hung in the air between the two of them. Aaron sat across from Anna in her living room, with him sitting on one of the armchairs and her on the couch. He had come home to find her sitting there. Normally, when he walked through the door, she would leap onto her feet, run to him, and jump in his arms, placing an earnest kiss on his lips. But that did not happen today. They both apparently had news to share. “You’re going to Boston?” Anna asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“I just found out today.” He replied sullenly.

“For how long?”

He shrugged. “Hard to say for sure. But it will at least be a few months. If the run is successful, then we can hit the Broadway scene, but we’re going to head out of town first, I guess.”

Anna didn’t say anything. She stared at the coffee table between them, practically as still as a statue. Internally, however, a battle was ongoing.

“That’s not exactly abnormal, you know.” She heard Aaron explain. “Lots of shows do an out-of-town run before Broadway. I mean, I could always come and visit when I have some days off. Or you know, you could come and visit me. Boston’s not that far away from here and it’s a pretty incredible place actually.”

He almost sounded distant, like he was talking from a different room. She felt words bubble up from her stomach. “Pam called today.” The words finally spilled out of her mouth.

Aaron paused, unsure of the significance of that information. “Okay. And what did she say?”

“I’m being offered a role.” Her tone was very flat. Maybe she had turned into a robot.

She heard him exhale excitedly. “Anna, that’s amazing. I mean that’s-“

“Filming’s in California.” She stated.

Another pause sank into the room. “Oh,” Aaron said, finally understanding. “How long?”

“Quite possibly… a year.” Anna finally looked up at him. “Give or take.” He slumped against the back of the chair, nodding and knitting his eyebrows. “I haven’t officially accepted yet.” She offered. “I mean, it’s obviously an amazing career move and I would be an absolute moron to turn it down, but…” Anna scratched the back of her neck and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Aaron didn’t say anything. He seemed to be lost in thought, on a different mental plane than her. The silence was practically deafening. An uncomfortable feeling filled the room and Anna felt compelled to make light of it all. “Well, look, I mean… it’s only a year. And you know, like you said, maybe I’ll have a weekend off, or you will. And of course, planes exist and so does modern technology so it’s not like it’s the 1800s or something.”

“So you’ve already decided that you’re going.” Aaron finally said. It almost sounded like a question, but it really wasn’t.

“I don’t know, I guess.” She held out her hands as she spoke. “I mean, why would I turn it down?”

Aaron fell silent again. He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, while running a hand through his hair. “I guess this was bound to happen sooner or later.” He muttered.

“Well, why are we acting so serious about all of this?” At this point, Anna’s mouth was moving without her really thinking about the words that were coming out. It was almost like her mouth developed its own brain. “This is a good thing, for both of us. We’re both moving on up in our careers and that’s great. It’s not like, you know, everything has to end.”

“I guess.” Aaron finally stood and moved towards the kitchen.

Anna got up and followed close behind. “Aaron, wait.” She called, but he ignored her and kept moving. Once he reached the kitchen, he went rummaging through the fridge and grabbed a beer. “Aaron, will you listen?” Anna stopped and leaned against the counter. He slowly turned and faced her, twisting the cap off the bottle and taking a sip. “You can’t be mad at me for taking this opportunity.”

“I’m not mad at you, Anna.” He said, studying the beer bottle in his hand. “Really, I’m not. You’re right. I’m glad that you’re going for it. I truly am happy for you and I hope you know that.” Then, he raised his gaze to meet hers. “But I guess, what I’m most upset about is that our… bubble just popped.”

Anna gave him a perplexed look. “Our what?”

“I don’t know. We were just living inside this bubble where we were able to just be around each other with no other distractions or people or anything. Everything was perfectly fine the way it was. But now, the bubble popped and the real world is settling in. And things are going to change.”

She shifted her gaze down at the ground and shuffled her feet. “So, does that mean… we’re calling it?”

He opened his mouth but immediately closed it. Of course, he didn’t want to “call it”. The highlight of his day was when he got to see her. But he knew that if he came on too strong, her defensive mode would kick in and she would be lost to him forever. So instead, he asked, “Is that you want?”

 _Damn,_ she thought. _Answering a question with a question is a low blow. Why should I have to make this decision for us?_ Anna lifted her head, shrugged her shoulders, and smirked a little. “I don’t even know what ‘it’ is.” Aaron nodded, looking away. Anna swallowed hard before continuing. “But… maybe, it would be better… for both of us… if we just end things now. I mean, that way there’s no distractions and we can just focus on our work.”

Some disappointment stabbed his chest, but he masked it by inhaling deeply. He placed the beer bottle on the counter next to him and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Okay,” was all he could think of to say.

“I still want to be friends if that’s cool.” Anna offered, noting his not so subtle change in demeanor.

After a beat, he lifted his head and flashed her a grin, a playful sparkle behind his blue eyes. “I’m like a bad rash, kiddo. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Anna let out a much-needed laugh. The mood in the room lightened because of it. “You’re so stupid,” She said shaking her head.

He gave her a look that said “yeah”. Then he started to walk towards her. “Stupid and huggable.” His arms reached out for her. “Come here.”

After rolling her eyes, she melted into his embrace. Her head fit just perfectly under his chin. They both subtly tried to take in each other’s scent as if trying to commit to memory. “Promise me we’re always going to be friends.” Anna muffled into Aaron’s shirt.

“Promise.” He gave her a reassuring squeeze.


	18. Be Happy

“Alright, people, take a cool 15. You’ve earned it.” The stage manager called. The company of Moulin Rouge seemed to take a collective sigh of relief, as they walked from their ending positions. They had been going over the choreography of Backstage Romance, which was already a super intense number. But they had run it at least 6 times that day and everyone was feeling wiped out. Aaron was no exception.

He went and sat along the wall of the rehearsal space, alternating between gulping up water and splashing some on his face. He was wiping his face and neck with a towel when he felt his phone buzz in his bag next to him.

Once he pulled it out, he saw it was a text from Anna. She had sent a selfie of her laying poolside, wearing sunglasses and a large brimmed sun hat. Even though it was mostly a head shot, it was clear that she was wearing some sort of black bikini with sunflowers on it. Next to her was a lady holding a make-up brush. They were both smiling wide from ear to ear. _Just another day at the office_ was the caption.

A smile crept across his face, but a twinge of a very different feeling set in. Was it longing? Jealousy? He wasn’t quite sure about that, but he was sure that he missed her. He responded by taking his own selfie, his face still red and sweat dripping from his brow. _Same here_ , he texted.

_Cute! Almost ready for your first preview?_

_Yes and no. Yes I am ready to get this over with and no we still have quite a bit to do. How are things on your end?_

_Crazy! Although I can now roundhouse kick any one I see fit. So you better be careful next time you see me ;)_

_Looking forward to it._

“Texting the girlfriend?” A voice brought Aaron back to reality. Ricky Rojas had come and invited himself to sit next to him. The two of them had grown to be really good friends over the rehearsal process.

Aaron rolled his eyes. “She’s not my girlfriend.” He had explained this to him many times before.

“Yeah, right.” Ricky smirked, yanking the phone out of his friend’s hand. Aaron tried to grab it back, but he was too quick. He found the picture of her in the bikini and whistled. “Sending you bikini pics? Bro, she is into you.”

Finally, Aaron got the phone back. “You’re such an asshole.” He muttered, clearly not in the joking mood.

“Oh, come on, mate.” Ricky wrapped an arm around Aaron’s shoulders. “I just want you to be happy. And I know how much you like her. You’re always texting her and talking on the phone. And when you do talk to her you get a little smile going on your face. So why not just go for it?”

Letting out a sigh, Aaron decided to lighten up. “Well, for one, she’s off in California right now living out her dream. And I’m here.”

“So?”

He scoffed. “Well, there’s a bit of a distance there.”

“Distance shouldn’t matter, man.” Ricky said. Then he started to sing, “Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough…” Aaron couldn’t help but laugh at his ridiculous companion. But of course, Ricky kept going. “Ain’t no river wide enough.”

Then the two of them sang the rest of it together. “To keep me from getting to you, baby.” They then collapsed in a fit of giggles.

>>>

“Please tell me you’re at least sexting.” Carla’s voice came through on the speaker phone. Anna was in her trailer clearing off her make-up and getting changed into pajamas after a long day of shooting.

Upon hearing her friend’s outrageous comment, Anna gasped dramatically. “Carla!” She scolded. “Of course not.” She had not told her about their “fling” that they had before they went their separate ways.

“Oh, my god. You guys are so stupid.” Carla groaned. “Just get the fuck over yourselves and just dive right in.”

“Uh, may I remind you of my crippling commitment issues?” Anna joked. She finished wiping down her face and started to tie her hair back in a ponytail. Her hair was still matted from the hairspray that was put in it earlier, but she would shower it off once she got off the phone.

“Oh, right. Your bone-chilling fear of liking someone. Or worse, having them like you back. Oh, the absolute horror. Stephen King ain’t got nothing on that.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Shut up.”

“Look, I just want you to be happy. You’re hot. He’s hot. It just makes sense.”

“Okay, can we please change the subject now?” Anna said. “How’s my Robert? Is he still a stinker?” She had entrusted the care of her beloved cat to Carla in her absence. Robert didn’t do well with travel, so it made more sense to leave him behind. Luckily, her friend sent her plenty of pictures and updates.

“He misses his mom.” Carla decided to let her change the subject. Her friend was very stubborn, so it was pretty much no use in trying to change her now. But still. “And his brother, Miles.”

Anna let out a huff and stared up at the ceiling. Miles went to live with Aaron in Boston, since he liked travelling. The two animals had not seen each other since the last time the humans saw each other, three months ago. “They’re not brothers, Carla. They’re not even the same species. And you are annoying.”

“Call me annoying if you want, but I’m also right.” Carla defended.

“Well, I better shower. I’ll talk to you later.” And with that, Anna hung up.

She flopped on the small brown couch in her trailer with a grunt. Never in her entire life would she admit it aloud, or even to herself, but she missed Aaron. His goofy smile, the sound of his sleepy voice in the morning, Miles. She thought about sending him a text, but the time difference would mean that it would be almost midnight his time. _Maybe he's asleep._

Little did she know that he was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling thinking the same thing. He missed Anna. The musical quality of her voice, her obnoxious laughter that caused her whole body to shake, the teasing way she would raise an eyebrow when she was flirting. 

_She must be happy where she is._

_He must be happy where he is._

One thing was for sure. This next period of time was not going to be easy.


	19. Keep Cool (Part 1)

“Everybody can-can!” Confetti burst into the air and rained down over the screaming audience. They were on their feet, cheering like their lives depended on it.

The cast of Moulin Rouge smiled brightly, still in their end poses. This was the feeling that they all joined the business for. It was very euphoric. It wasn’t their first preview. In fact, they were about halfway through their preview run. But with each new show brought a new crowd of excited fans of theatre and movies alike. The reviews have been nothing but positive and chances are, they would soon be hitting the Great White Way.

The cast took one more gracious bow and backed up so the curtain could close. As it lowered down, they waved and blew kisses ecstatically. Once they were finally hidden behind the curtain, they all took a collective sigh. They were all exhausted but passed around compliments and “good jobs” while making their way to their dressing rooms.

Ricky ran up to Aaron and tackled him with an aggressive hug. “Another successful show, mate.” He said, rubbing the top of his friend’s head.

“Ricky, I can’t breathe, man.” Aaron warned him but laughing while saying it. “But you too, dude.”

“You killed it in Roxanne tonight.” Letting Aaron go, he placed on friendly hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, Aaron,” one of the stage hands interrupted their bromance moment. “Someone sent you a gift basket. We put it in your dressing room.”

“Okay, thanks.” He said, making his way down up the stairs.

“I hope it’s another basket full of chocolate bars.” Ricky followed after him. His dressing room was just down the hall from him anyway. “I could use a little pick-me-up. Been working pretty hard, you know.”

“What makes you think you’re getting any?” Aaron called over his shoulder.

“But I’ve been such a good boy lately.” He whined. They reached the landing, but then Ricky gently pushed Aaron out of the way. “First one there gets first dibs.” The two boys giggled like children and chased each other to Aaron’s door.

Aaron was able to make it to the door first and he burst the door open, making both of them stumble in.

“Oh, fucking shit!” Anna jumped up in alarm. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You almost gave a fucking heart attack!”

It took Aaron a moment to realize the situation. Anna placed a couple of fingers on her neck, checking her pulse. _She’s here, she’s really here_. “Anna?” He gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I thought I would come and surprise you, but I guess the joke’s on me.” She tried to catch her breath.

Aaron smiled a genuine smile, not unlike the smile he gave to the cheering audience a few minutes ago. “I’m so happy to see you.” He scooped her up in a hug before he could really think about it.

Within the hug, both of them couldn’t help but smile and breathe a happy sigh. Like they hadn’t breathed since the last time they saw each other. The puzzle was back together.

“So this is the illustrious Anna,” Ricky said, making both of them pull apart. They had clearly forgotten that he was still here. He made a big show as he walked over, grabbed her hand, and placed a kiss on the back of it. “It is an honor to finally meet you.”

Aaron shook his head and pulled his friend back forcefully. “Anna, this is Ricky. He does things without thinking.”

Anna chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you. You guys were so good tonight. Backstage Romance took my goddamn breath away.”

“So you saw the show?” Aaron asked. _Has she always looked this stunning? Or have I just missed her that much?_

She scoffed. “Like I was going to come all this way just for you? Moulin Rouge is easily one of my favorite movies. And you guys knocked it out of the damn park.”

“Thanks, love.” Ricky threw an arm around Aaron’s shoulder. “But don’t you think our boy here did a kickass job as Christian?”

“Our boy?” Aaron asked.

Anna let out another giggle. “I guess, but he ain’t no Ewan McGregor.”

Ricky waved a dismissive hand. “McGregor wishes he had half the talent as this guy. You chose well, my dear.”

“Thank you, Ricky.” Aaron pulled the arm off his shoulder and started to gesture toward the door. “Isn’t it time you went home now?”

“But we were just getting to know each other.” Ricky tried to protest, but Aaron was already pushing him out into the hall. “Fine, I’ll leave you to have some privacy. Nice to meet you, Anna!” Aaron shut the door right then.

He let out a little chuckle. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Anna smiled widely. “I like him.”

He took in the sight of her standing there. She was wearing a red dress, her blonde hair down past her shoulders. Her make-up was light, except for the cherry red lipstick. God, how he wanted to just kiss her right then. _Don’t scare her, though_. “I can’t believe you’re actually here.” He said instead.

Anna shrugged and placed her hands behind her back and twisted a little, like a child. Damn, he really wanted to kiss her. “Just missed the East Coast is all.” She said looking up at him with a teasing twinkle in her eye.

He took a couple steps toward her, placing his hands in his pockets. If he hadn’t, he might have reached out and grabbed her. “Oh, is that all?” He asked, clearly not believing her.

She looked down at the ground, unable to stop smiling. “I wasn’t kidding earlier. That was a really, really good show.” _Yeah, I wanted to jump the stage and do you right there. Especially during Roxanne._

“Thanks.” A small moment of silence fell between them. They stood there staring at each other, a familiar magnetic feeling filling the air slowly. _Who was in charge of this costume?_ Anna thought to herself taking in his jacket, suit, and neckerchief. _That neckerchief is taunting the fuck out of me._

“The new songs, they were really great.” Anna said, trying to break the silence. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me that you sang a Regina Spektor song in Elephant Love Medley. Honestly, it was better than the movie.”

Aaron smiled again. He shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.”

“Oh, and Karen was an absolute vision. She made that Katy Perry song her own, I loved it.”

He nodded. “She is incredible.” _So are you._

Another brief moment of electric silence. _She wore red on purpose,_ he thought. _Just to fuck with me_. “Answer me one question though.” Anna said.

Aaron made eye contact with her. A hopeful glint in his eye. “Okay.”

“Was it a prerequisite for everyone in this cast to be stupid hot?” He let out a belly laugh, his eyes crinkling in the corner. He bent slightly forward as if the laughter was weighing him down. “I’m serious,” Anna said. His smile and laughter was infectious _. It’s not fair_. “How was every single person on that stage just ridiculously good-looking? Where was the casting call, Victoria’s Secret?”

Aaron couldn’t take it anymore. He had to at least hold her. He threw his arms around her again, remembering that her head fit just perfectly under his chin. She melted into him, remembering his scent. They held this position for a few minutes. Neither one of them wanting to let go. It was just so perfect, being together again. It had been too long.

“Don’t hit me for saying this,” Aaron said, his voice barely above a whisper. “But I missed you.”

As much as she tried to fit it, she grinned into his shirt. Internally, she was a giddy little girl jumping up and down. But she kept her external self cool. “Don’t tell anybody I said this, but…” She lifted her head and looked up at him. “I missed you, too.”

_His lips are right there._

_Her lips are right there._

_He looks so damn good right now._

_She looks so damn good right now._

_Keep your cool._

_Keep your cool._

Sure enough, all self-control they were exercising earlier suddenly went out the window. Their lips collided and their hands refamiliarized themselves with each other’s bodies.


	20. Keep Cool (Part 2)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: NSFW, sexy times about to occur (Finally!)

Desperation is a curious thing. It causes starving people to attack anyone for just a little bit of food. It causes powerful people to hire hitmen. No matter what the situation, desperation makes people do some pretty crazy things.

For Anna and Aaron, they were desperate for each other. Clothes were the only thing standing in each other’s way. So that had to be dealt with immediately. Of course, Aaron was still in costume. They both understood how costume designers felt about their precious costumes so they had to be careful, but that was the only reason why Anna did just rip it directly off him.

It was a small sized dressing room, only a loveseat and a mirror and vanity set could fit. Aaron pushed her to the vanity and lifted her so she could sit on the counter. She gasped when he grabbed her by her ass.

“How many layers do you need on this thing?” Anna grunted, struggling to undo the button of his shirt. She had already removed a jacket and a vest. How many more was there?

“Just enough to make you miserable,” He said, trailing his lips down her neck in search of his favorite spot. A little yelp let him know when he had found it. “Shhh.” He lifted his lips to hover over hers. “These walls are paper thin. Anybody could hear what we’re doing.”

A dark shadow fell over her eyes. “Who gives a shit?” She reconnected with him, feeling overwhelmed with desire. Finally, the buttons of his shirt came off to reveal his undershirt. She groaned in frustration.

He smiled into her mouth. “Last one.” He told her, breaking away only to remove the rest of his shirt. He came back to her with more motivation than before. The want for her was growing more and more with every passing second.

His hands went to untie the neckerchief around his neck, but she stopped his hands. “That stays on.” Her voice was low and breathy, a shadow behind her eyes. She grabs a hold of the cloth around his neck and pulled him to her, taking the time to move her lips along his sharp jaw line and down around the outline of the scarf. _Note to self,_ he thought. _Wear more neckerchiefs._

“Take off your pants and be done with it already.” She ordered, feeling her own want getting more and more desperate for him.

With a fluid motion, he removed his pants. She reached down his boxers. He couldn’t help but let out a moan when her hand found what it was looking for.

“Do you have a condom?” He asked, barely able to speak.

“Uh, I’m on the pill, just do it now.” She pulled her underwear off to the side and guided him to her.

Upon entering her, the two of them practically sobbed at the sensation. It had been too long since they had done this and it turns out they missed each other more than either of them realized. They rested their foreheads together, allowing her to adjust to him and to take in the familiar feeling.

“Show me how much you missed me.” Anna said, gripping his hair and pulling his mouth to hers again. His hips moved with hers, his hands roaming all over her torso.

With every thrust, Anna got a little louder. He kept his mouth against hers in an attempt to quiet her a little. There was no doubt that someone could hear, but neither one of them cared at the moment. _How can someone be so beautiful?_ He thought.

“Oh, god.” He moaned, feeling himself getting close to climax.

“Aaron,” His name in her mouth sounded like both a curse word and a prayer at the same time. To show his appreciation, he reached down between them and started to rub her sensitive spot.

She responded by throwing her head back. Aaron seized the opportunity to latch onto her neck again. “Please,” She begged him.

He was reaching his climax, the sounds coming from him were enough to drive her wild. But she placed her mouth over his, trying to hinder his groans from being too loud. She held him close as he came, unable to suppress a smile knowing that she was the cause of him coming undone.

After he finished, he lifted his head and reconnected their lips. “Your turn now.” He said, rubbing her sensitive spot once again.

He watched her face twist as she tried her best not to scream. It was an amazing sight. The thought of knowing that he was causing her to make such wonderful noises was an amazing feeling.

“Oh, god, Aaron, I’m close.” She whined, gripping the back of his hair like a life raft. Her walls clenched around him, he could feel her getting closer without her saying so.

She inhaled deeply, he met her mouth placing lazy kisses all over. She had reached her moment of euphoria and shook under his touch. For a moment, she forgot to how to breath or that she even had lungs to begin with. But soon, the memory of breathing returned and she let out staggered breaths.

Again, they rested their foreheads against each other, exchanging oxygen for each other and enjoying the feeling of being close to each other again. It was almost as if they could communicate telepathically through their foreheads, telling the other person exactly what they were feeling and thinking.

Soon, they let out a few chuckles, laughing at an unspoken joke. Not exactly sure why they felt like laughing, but apparently, they needed to.

“Feel free to come and surprise me more often.” Aaron said, flashing a signature goofy grin.

“Shut up,” Anna said through the giggles. She placed one more kiss on his lips, this time it was gentle. _I’m in trouble,_ she thought.


	21. Easy (Part 1)

“Okay, that’s the weekend.” The director called. “Everyone, enjoy the next two days off. But be back ready to go on Monday.”

Anna practically bolted to her trailer. They were nearly done with filming her new film, but due to some issues with the studio that needed to be resolved, the director had given them two days off while he went to fix it.

It was more than okay by Anna, because someone special just happen to be visiting her this weekend and happened to be waiting for her in the trailer right now. Two days all to themselves sounded amazing.

They still hadn’t fully talked about what they thought their relationship was. Since surprising him at his show a few months ago, they still kept in touch. But now, their communication dealt with a little more risqué topics of conversation. And, to be honest, not a lot of talking occurred when they got together. 

Anna threw open the door of her trailer and found Aaron lounging on her couch, reading a book. He looked up when he heard the door open. A smile crept across his face upon seeing her, sending a chill down her spine. He really did have a terrific smile.

“Happy Friday!” She said with an impossible wide smile. “Guess who has the next two whole days off?”

“Oprah Winfrey?” He asked jokingly, placing his bookmark in his book and placing it on the table next to him.

“Try again.” She said, placing her hands on her hips.

“Oh, is it… is it you?” The dumb look on his face was enough to cause her to jump into his lap, straddling him.

“Bingo.” She said, kissing him deeply. “I am all yours for the next two days.”

“What do you want to do?” He asked coyly.

“Shut up.” Her kisses grew more intense, her hands going to his hair.

A knock at the door interrupted them. Anna got up from the couch, rolling her eyes. “Really?” She asked to no one in particular. She went to the door and opened it up. One of the production assistants, Taylor, was standing there.

“Sorry to disturb you, Anna,” She said. “But there’s a visitor here to see you.”

Anna’s eyebrows clashed together. “Yeah, I know.” She gestured over her shoulder at Aaron, who was now moving to get closer to the door. “He’s already here, Taylor.”

“No, I mean, there’s someone else here who says she knows you.” Taylor said, a little smile forming on her face. Like she was trying to hold back a secret. 

Again, Anna showed confusion. _None of her friends had told her they were planning on visiting me. And Taylor did say “she”. Who was “she”?_ “Who is it?” She asked.

Just then, Taylor stepped back to reveal the woman standing behind her. The woman was about middle aged. Her very light brown, almost blonde hair fell just past her shoulders. There was a timid, crooked smile on her face. She wore a pink tank top with white pants. “Hey, Anna.” The woman said softly.

Aaron, who was now right by Anna’s side, felt her stiffen. He looked over and saw the shock on her face and the color slowly draining from her. “Mom?” It wasn’t so much of a question, but more of an exclamation. _Oh, shit._

“Surprise.” The woman said, taking one step closer to the trailer.

Aaron regarded the woman carefully. This was the woman that Anna held so much resentment against? This was the person who Anna blamed most of her problems on? She didn’t seem at all like how he had pictured. But in her face, he could see the resemblance between the two of them. They shared the same delicate facial features and smile.

“What are you doing here?” Anna asked, not moving at all. Her mind had gone completely blank. “How did you find me?”

“I contacted your agent and she told me where you were. I saw your last film and absolutely loved it.” The woman explained. When she spoke, she barely made eye contact with anyone. Almost as if she was ashamed of speaking.

“Hi,” Aaron walked past Anna and reached his hand out to her mother. “I’m Aaron.”

“Tricia.” The woman smiled, though it only lasted for a moment. She shook his hand, but her grip was very apprehensive.

“I think I’ll leave you…” Taylor started to back away.

“Get her out here.” Anna said. That caught everyone off guard and they all looked directly at her in various degrees of confusion and shock.

“What?” Taylor asked.

“Anna,” Tricia said.

 _Don’t you dare say my name like that._ “You heard me,” Anna’s voice raised ever so slightly. “I want this woman off the property right now.”

“Anna,” Aaron spoke up. “She’s your mother.”

“No, she is not.” Her voice was lined with all of the repressed anger she had felt over the years. “That woman is no mother of mine. She made that very clear when she walked out on my family all those years ago and I want her gone. Now.” Anna started to retreat back into the trailer.

“Anna, please,” Tricia begged. “Let’s just talk.”

“Oh, now you want to talk?” Anna turned and faced her mother. Her eyes practically red with rage. “Now that I’m in the film industry you want to talk things out? What makes you think that you have the right to do this to me? What make you think that I even want to talk to you? Taylor, please escort this woman off the premises and make sure that I never have to see her again.” With that, Anna turned back into her trailer and locked herself in her bathroom.

The rest of them stood still for a moment. The feeling in between them was almost like they had all just witnessed a horrific accident and were still trying to come to terms with what they had just witnessed. “I’m sorry,” Taylor spoke up. “I didn’t know that…”

“It’s okay.” Aaron said, placing his hands on his hips. “You were just doing your job.”

“I should go now.” Tricia said, her gaze on the ground.

“Wait,” Aaron placed a gentle hand on her arm. “Look, she’s probably shocked at seeing you. I’ll try and talk with her and calm her down a bit. Are you in town for long?”

“No, don’t bother. She’s right to be angry with me. It was a long shot anyway.”

“Let me just try.” He said, feeling sympathy for the woman. “Where could I reach you?”

“I fly back on Monday.” Tricia replied, a ray of hope in her eyes. “I’m staying at the Best Western across town.”

He got out his phone and gave it to her. “I can’t really guarantee anything.”

“I know.” The woman said. She entered in her information and gave him back the phone. When she did, she looked him over carefully. “She’s lucky to have someone like you, though.”

At that moment, Taylor and Tricia walked away, leaving Aaron’s mind to race. He looked back into trailer. _This is not going to be easy._


	22. Easy (Part 2)

“If you tell me to give her a chance again, I’ll kick you off the property myself.” Anna called from behind the closed door. She sat on the toilet with the lid down, her face buried in her hands.

Aaron was now sitting on the floor, leaning his head against the wall across from the bathroom door. He had been trying to talk her out of the bathroom for the last five minutes. To no avail. “Fine,” He said. “Would you at least come out of there and talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I’ve said all I have to say about that woman.”

“Anna, she’s your mother.”

“A mother does not walk on her children to start a new life.” Her anger was uncontrollable. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she refused to let them. _Big girls don’t cry_. “Did you know that my brother was barely two years old when she left? He has no memory of his own mother.”

He let out a sigh, staring up at the ceiling. He tried to imagine what it was like to grow up without a mother. His mother was always very caring and loving. And more importantly, she was there. How different would he have been if he didn’t have her around? _How different would Anna be if her mother had been around_? “Please, Anna. Just come out of the bathroom. I’m tired of talking to a door.”

There was a moment of silence before the door opened. Aaron moved his legs to allow the door to open fully. Anna sat on the toilet that was facing him. But she did not get up. “I will open the door, but I am not leaving here until you agree to drop this.”

 _There’s that stubbornness. The thing I admire so much about her has come to bite me in the ass._ “No,” Aaron shook his head. “Because you’re clearly upset about this.”

She ran her hands down her face. “Ugh, I hate this.” She groaned. The tears were right on the edge, ready for action. “This was supposed to be our weekend, just us. Then she walks in and just ruins everything.” _As usual._

“It’s not ruined.” He told her.

“Oh, it’s not ruined.” She asked, with a biting sarcasm. “Then why are we stuck here talking about this and not fucking each other’s brains out?” He didn’t answer. “You just don’t understand.”

“Then help me understand.” He looked her in the eye. “You’re right, I don’t understand how you’re feeling right now. I don’t know what it’s like not to grow up without a mom. But why don’t you tell me about it. Maybe I could learn to understand.”

“Why? It’s not like we’re dating.”

Her words hung in the air, suspended midair like someone pressed the pause button on them. “Don’t push me away, Anna.” Aaron finally said, his voice soft and quiet.

“I’m not pushing you away, Aaron.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “I just would rather not talk about this anymore.”

“Why?” He pushed. “Because you’re worried if you tell me that I’ll judge you? Or care about you?”

“No,” Anna snapped.

“No, you’re right. That’s not it.” Aaron was marching on dangerous territory and he knew it. “You’re scared of letting me in, aren’t you?”

Anna scoffed. “Okay, you got your wish.” She stood up. “I’m coming out now.”

“You are, aren’t you?” He asked again, not moving from his spot on the floor. “Do you think I’m going to leave you like your mom did?”

“No, Aaron.” She practically shouted. “Just stop.” She stepped over his feet and walked out of the bathroom and to the small sitting area she called her living room. He quickly got to his feet and followed close behind her.

“Don’t you trust me? Why won’t you talk to me, Anna?”

“Stop, Aaron.” She spun on her heels to face him. “Just stop. Stop trying to fix me and my problems. It’s not your job. I’ve been doing just fine on my own, thank you very much. I’m not some damsel in distress you need to rescue.”

“I never said you were.”

“But that’s how you’re making me feel right now.” She buried her face in her hands once again and took a couple of breaths. Being calm wasn’t exactly her strong suit, but she had to try. Her hands moved to rub her temples. “Look, I’m sorry for acting like a basket case right now. Okay? It’s just… things with my mother are complicated. It’s a long, sad story that’s not going to resolve itself anytime soon.” Her hands then grabbed his. “Can we just… forget that ever happened? Please? Let’s just… let’s go away for the weekend. Away from responsibilities, my mother, just anything. Just you and me.”

Aaron looked over her closely. From this distance, he could see what she was trying so desperately to hide. Vulnerability. Her mother made her feel vulnerable and that’s what she was most upset about. In her eyes, he could see a sad young girl trying to put on a brave face. It was heartbreaking. He did want to fix things, fix her. But he knew that she didn’t want him to.

“So, you’re not even willing to sit down and talk with her?” He asked softly.

“Oh, my god.” She threw her hands up and plopped down on the couch. “You really aren’t good at letting things go.”

“I guess I’m just as stubborn as you.” Aaron knelt down by her, meeting her eyeline. “I’m not saying you need to forgive her or even like her. I’m just saying that, if you are still feeling like this, then don’t you think you deserve some closure at least? Maybe she can answer the questions that you’ve been asking yourself all these years.”

“Oh, like why the fuck did you walk out on us?” Anna’s tears were in the corners ready to move, but she wiped her face quickly. _He’s already seen me act hysterical. He doesn’t need to see me cry._

“Yeah,” Aaron nodded. He placed a hand on her knee, a comforting thumb gently rubbing her knee cap. “I think you need this more than you think. And I think it’s time that you try to heal these wounds that you’ve tried to cover up. You’ve been dealing with this for years and I think it’s about time you try to move on. Not just ignoring it and pretending it doesn’t exist.”

 _Damn, he can read me like a book._ Of course, she wanted to have closure. In truth, she was tired of feeling angry all the time. But then again, she didn’t know anything else but anger. “I’ve been doing just fine.” She tried to say.

“Yeah, that’s why you locked yourself in the bathroom just now.” He could give sarcastic comments just as good as her. He cupped her face and forced her to look at him. She gave him a rather pathetic look that was very rare. “I know you don’t like to admit this, but I think that you need this more than you know.”

She looked back at him, trying to put her guard up, but failing miserably. She was defenseless against his laser blue-eyed stare. “Let me guess,” She smirked bitterly. “You have her contact info already.”

A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “She flies out on Monday. Maybe you two can get lunch tomorrow?”

“No,” She shook her head. “Nothing public. I don’t want to be charged for murder with a bunch of witnesses around.”

The grin now turned into a smile. “Then, we’ll invite her back here. On your turf.”

Anna slumped back against the couch with a huff. “Fine. But I am not going to promise that I won’t throw anything.” _This was not going to be easy._


	23. Easy (Part 3)

“Do you want me here with you?” Aaron asked. He had received a text from Tricia letting him know that she was on her way. That morning, Anna had tried to come up with every excuse that she couldn’t meet with her mother today, but Aaron shot everyone of them down. Currently, she was pacing the trailer, wringing her hands and fidgeting like she was in withdrawals.

“No,” She said. “I’m a big girl. This is between me and her. I can do this.” She tried to put confidence behind her words, at least to reassure him, but it was not convincing. Even she wasn’t buying it. She could feel her stomach tying itself into knots.

“Then, how about I just hang out outside?” He offered. “I’m at a good spot in my book anyway. And you need me for anything, you can just shout.”

“You’re probably going to hear shouting anyway.” Her voice was rather monotone. “I don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“You’ll think of something.” Aaron put an arm on her shoulder and she stopped in her tracks. The look she gave him was something out of an ASPCA commercial. It broke his heart. “You can do this.”

She clamped down on her bottom lip. “I don’t know if I can.” She admitted with a shrug of her shoulder.

He pulled her into a hug. Pressing herself into his torso, he could feel her trembling. There was nothing he would have loved more than to hold her like this for the rest of her life. Nothing else would hurt her and he could protect her. But he knew that she needed to do this. “You can.” He assured her, placing a gentle kiss on top of her head. “And to pull a direct quote from you, you’re a tough bitch that can’t be contained.”

A laugh escaped her. _How does he always know exactly what to say to get me to laugh?_ “Damn straight.” She remarked.

There was a knock at the door. They broke their embrace and stared at it, knowing who was on the other side. It felt as though Anna had swallowed a large rock and it sat in her stomach, leaving an uneasy feeling racing through her.

After Aaron placed one more reassuring kiss on the top of her head, he went to open the door.

Tricia gave him a half-smile. “Hi,” She greeted softly.

“Come on in.” He said gesturing for her to enter. She nodded and entered the trailer, even her footsteps were timid. Anna stood as still as a statue, jaw jutting out and watching her mother like she was preparing to attack her. “I’m going to be right outside.” Aaron announced. “Let me know if you need anything.” And with that, he closed the door behind him, leaving the two women alone.

The sound of the closing door seemed to echo in the small trailer. Anna stared at her mother still, while her mother struggled to maintain eye contact. “Mind if I sit?” She asked, gesturing to the small couch.

All Anna could do was nod stiffly and her mother moved to sit. “It’s a great little trailer you have here.” Her mother commented looking around. “Must be nice living the movie star life.”

“Why are you here?” Anna asked, not acknowledging her comments.

Tricia took a deep breath. “I told you, Anna. I just wanted to talk.”

“I don’t believe you.” Her jaw clenched. “You had years to reach out to me and talk. Why now?”

Her mother shrugged. “Because you’re an adult now. With a steady enough career. I thought you would be ready for it now.”

“Bullshit.”

Her mother seemed to flinch slightly. “You shouldn’t say such things.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Does that offend you?” Anna was unable to hold back the bitterness in her voice. “Have I made you uncomfortable that I swear now? Well, forgive me for all of the sins that I committed against you.”

“Anna.”

“No, you need to listen.” Anna swallowed hard. The rock in her stomach tried to exit her body through her mouth, but she pushed it back down. “I don’t know if you fully realize what happened to us when you left. I don’t know if you even care. And I definitely don’t know what you’re after right now. But what I do know, is that you left. You left your three kids, one of whom was barely out of diapers, and left them to fend for themselves. Do you have any idea what it was like for us?”

“I can only imagine.” Tricia started to say. She still refused to maintain eye contact.

“Yes, you can only imagine. Because you weren’t fucking there. I was six years old, you know. I was _six years old_ when I decided to step up and fill your place. At six, I became a mother to my little brother and sister. At six! I had to grow up and take care of the family that you abandoned because they needed a mother. Dad tried to make things work, but he could only do so much working a full-time job. But me, I was always there. I could be there for David and Nora and I was. I helped them with their homework, I made sure they did their chores, when I was old enough to drive, I drove them to their various activities and jobs. I did that.”

She smiled. “You were always the strong one.”

“Oh, shut up.” Anna’s voice raised ever so slightly. On the outside of the trailer, Aaron could hear the anger in her voice. “Is that why you left? Because you knew that I would take care of things?”

“No, sweetie. I just meant that you were always the one who was taking care of everyone.”

“Yeah, because you wouldn’t. David and Nora might not remember what life was like with you but I do. Even when you were around, you weren’t around. I have no memories of playing with you or doing anything with you. Instead, all of my memories are you crying at the kitchen table, you wearing the same dirty nightgown for days upon end, you taking many naps during the day, staring off into space.”

“I was dealing with some difficult things.”

“Yeah, now I know it’s called addiction mixed with a bit of depression. Lots of people are addicted to a variety of different things nowadays. That doesn’t mean they get to walk out on their kids.”

Tricia sighed and stood up again. “Maybe this was a mistake.”

 _Running away from her problems, as usual._ “No, the mistake was you leaving in the first place. I need to know.” Again, Anna had to swallow hard. “Tell me the real reason why you left. No bullshit. Dad told me that you signed away your parental rights with the divorce. And I just want to know why?” She heard her voice break, but she pushed down her emotions just enough.

Tricia seemed to trace shapes with her feet on the carpet. Her eyes following the movement of her foot. “I can’t explain it.” She replied softly. “I just thought you would be better without me dragging you down. I was on a bunch of different pills and coming in and out of sobriety and… that was no way to parent. You, especially, were so smart and bubbly. Anyone who met you instantly loved you. I knew that you would grow up to be an amazing person with a bright future. And I thought that… I would only hold you back.”

Anna stood still. She wasn’t sure if she was expecting some grand reveal from her mother. Some elaborate reason or scheme that forced her to leave her family that would make it seem like it was the right thing to do. But it wasn’t. “You thought being my mother was a burden?” Her voice was now quiet and quivering. “You thought that I really would be better off without a mother?”

“I told you. I can’t explain it.”

“Well, I guess you were right in a way.” There was no way she could hold back her tears now. They flowed freely. “I am better off without you. I got to where I am today, without you. David and Nora… well, they may not know any different, but they are better off. I made sure of it. I took care of them and made sure that if they could rely on no one else in their life, they could rely on me. So thank you. For making me who I am today.”

Tricia frowned. “I never stopped thinking about you guys. If things could have been different…”

“Don’t act like it was out of your control. Don’t act like you made some sort of noble sacrifice. You chose to take pills. You chose to leave. You chose to leave us behind. And… in a way, we’re still hurting because of what you did. Maybe we’ll always be damaged in that way. But one thing is for sure. We don’t need you. I don’t need you.”

Her mother nodded slowly. “I think I’ll go now.” Anna watched her mother move towards the door. She reached out for the door handle and stopped. “For what it’s worth, I am proud of you, Anna. I always knew you were going to amount to something.” The sound of the door opening echoed in the small space once again.

Aaron jumped to his feet and looked to the opening door, clutching his book to his side. In truth, he hadn’t read at all. He couldn’t focus. Tricia exited the trailer and closed the door behind her. “Thank you, Aaron.” She said, some tears at the corner of her eyes. “She may not be ready to hear it now, but I never stopped caring about her.”

He could see the same pitiful look Anna gave him just before she had arrived. All he could do was nod and watch the woman leave. It was clear that she was sad, but there was nothing he could do to fix this situation. Plus, like what Anna had said earlier, it wasn’t his place.

Aaron opened the door and saw Anna slumped on the couch, hands covering her face, her shoulders shaking. If she heard him, she did not acknowledge him. Soft sobs pushed him to run to her side and wrap his arms around her.

Normally, she didn’t want anyone to see her cry. In any other situation, she would have wiped tears from her eyes and made some sort of joke to redirect from what was bothering her. She would have smiled widely for extra measure, in an effort to fool anyone looking at her that she was perfectly fine. But this was not one of those times.

She wept loudly, unable to hold it back any longer. She allowed Aaron to hold her close to him. He didn’t speak or make any attempt to cheer her up. He just sat there, letting her cry, and praying to anyone listening that her pain would go away soon.

>>>>

“Do you really think we aren’t dating?” Aaron asked out of the blue.

Anna gave him a perplexed look. They were sitting watching TV. It was the day after the conversation with her mother happened. They had spent the rest of that day and the next just holding each other, not really talking outside of asking each other what they want to watch or eat. “What?” She asked, lifting her head from where it rested against his shoulder.

“Look, Anna, I’m sorry.” He sat up, and so did she. Her expression was still perplexed. “I’m not sure what you call dating, but I think we are.”

Anna shook her head. “Where is this coming from? What does this have to do with anything?”

He shrugged. “You mentioned a couple of days ago that the reason why you didn’t want to talk about your mother was because we weren’t dating. And I guess that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”

“I… I mean…” She stammered. _Alert, alert, this is dangerous. Get out of here now._ “I’m just… I’m caught off guard right now.”

“I should have told you that I care about you way back when you first told me about this movie. I think about you all the time. All I want is to be around you. Even now, just sitting here with you makes me happier than I ever thought possible. And I really want to go for it with you. I think we could make each other happy.”

She sat there shocked, barely breathing. Emotionally, she was exhausted. First, she had to deal with her mother and all of the emotions that came with that. Now, Aaron was basically professing his love for her. It was a lot take in. She let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m sorry, I just… I don’t get how we went from chilling out to… this.”

“Do you like me, yes or no?” He asked bluntly. “I want a direct answer from you. No sidestepping. No bullshit.”

“What is going on?” Anna threw up her hands.

“Do you like me?” He repeated firmly. His blue eyes boring deep into hers.

 _Get the fuck out now._ She stood up and ran her hands through her hair. “Oh, my god.”

He stood up with her and pressed further. “It’s a simple enough question, Anna. Do you like me?”

“What is this? Fucking middle school?”

“Stop avoiding the question. Do you want to do this? Yes or no.”

She stared back at him, feeling like an ant under magnifying glass. “Are you trying to ask me out? Is that it?”

“Anna,” He took a step to be close to her. A hand went up to cradle her face, a thumb gently rubbing her cheek. “I like you. Do you like me?”

 _Oh god, yes._ “I don’t know what you want me to say.” Anna shrugged her shoulders.

“Yes, you do,” He pushed gently.

 _Fuck, I hate him_. “I avoid feeling uncomfortable.” She said quietly. Words then fell out of her mouth faster than her brain could process. “I will avoid a situation that makes me emotional at all costs, including but not limited to sad movies. I am very quick to anger. I get angry about things that don’t really matter. And when I am angry, it’s a whole mess. I am fiercely independent. So much so that I absolutely hate asking for favors or help from anyone. I don’t like to get personal with anyone. I would rather die than reveal anything remotely personal about myself. And I guess, my point is… you shouldn’t like me. Because I’m a fucking mess.”

A small smirk itched the edge of his mouth. “Okay. Fair is fair. I am a habitual people pleaser. I would break my back trying to please anyone. I feel all my emotions very strongly. No matter what feeling I feel, it’s always intense. I don’t understand technology, like at all. I’m a little too optimistic, almost to the point of being naïve. I’m extremely childish, it’s a wonder that anyone takes me seriously. And… I am absolutely crazy about you.” His other hand held her head up, to keep her looking at him. “You might be a fucking mess, Anna, but… you know what? Who isn’t? You are also this amazingly strong and beautiful woman that I am just… in awe of. I know that you’re scared of opening up to people because you’re scared of getting hurt, but Anna, I promise that I would never hurt you. Sometimes you gotta take a risk every once in a while. And I want to take that risk with you. Do you?”

She looked back at him, bewilderment painted all over her. No one has ever talked about her like that before. And who was she kidding, her heart always skipped a beat every time she was near him. He didn’t run away when the whole mess of her mother came up. He was someone who might be worth keeping around. _How could an amazing person like this go for someone like me?_ A little smile forming over mouth now. “Yes.” She whispered. “Yes, I do like you. But I can’t promise that I won’t be a basket case.” 

He smiled widely and leaned down to kiss her. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, melting into him. No, he couldn’t fix her. But he could at least try and show her that she deserved to be cared for. Maybe even loved.


	24. In the Meantime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some suggestiveness in the following chapter, but nothing too smutty. A quick look into a long-distance relationship...

Long distance relationships are hard. It sounds rather cliché but there is some truth to it. The hardest part for Aaron and Anna was coordinating times to Skype or Facetime. Sure, they were constantly sending texts when they could and would call each other at night, but they also wanted to actually see each other sometimes. But with the three hour time difference and Anna’s filming schedule moving to night shoots, it was getting harder and harder to make it happen.

 _Skype tonight?_ Aaron texted her.

She was sitting in the make-up trailer when she received the text. They were shooting a big fight scene tonight and so she was getting the “cuts” and bruises applied to her face. When her phone went off and she read the text. She bit her bottom lip, not paying attention to the woman looking over her shoulder.

“Is that the boy?” Greta asked. Greta was one of the make-up assistants that worked on set. She and Anna had worked very closely with each other and grown to be very good friends because of it. Aaron and Anna had decided to tell close friends about their new relationship status, but did not make any official announcements for the public.

“Yeah, he wants to Skype tonight.” Anna told her.

“Oh,” Greta made a face while dabbing a brush in some sort of cream. “What are you going to tell him?”

“The truth.” Anna replied, closing her eyes so Greta could rub the cream on her forehead. “I feel bad though. This is the fourth time I’ve had to push back a Skype date.”

“Well, maybe you could squeeze it in between takes. It’ll be short, but at least you get to see him.”

Anna sighed deeply. “I don’t want to feel a time crunch with him. But I do miss him.”

“I know you do, sweetie.” She put the lid back on over the cream, but then got a wicked idea. “Maybe you could show him exactly how much you miss him.”

The tone and suggestiveness in her friend’s voice made Anna open her eyes and look at her. “What do you mean?”

Greta leaned against the make-up counter. “Well, you could send him some… shall we say, naughty pics. It could make up for some lost time.”

Anna scoffed. “Very funny.”

“I’m serious. He'll go nuts for that."

"I don't know," Anna considered it for a moment. "I don't think I would be able to take it seriously."

"You don’t have to send him full-blown pornos, but just sneak a peek down your shirt or a shot of your bare ass. I’m sure he’ll love it.”

“I'm still not sure,” She shrugged and shifted in her chair. “Isn’t that kinda weird?”

“No,” Greta waved a dismissive hand. “Are you kidding? Men are savages. All they want and all they think about is sex. Trust me, he’ll go apeshit for it.”

>>>

“Come on, Miles.” Aaron tugged gently on the leash, leading his dog back towards his temporary apartment. They were out on a night walk. Aaron happened to have the night off and took the opportunity to take Miles out on an adventure, who was always up for it.

As they walked, Aaron’s mind wandered to Anna. He had sent her a text hoping to set up a Skype date for tonight, but he had not received a response back yet. That probably meant she was going to postpone it. Again. He understood why, filming schedules are usually all over the place and intense. But he was still disappointed. He had actually seen her in a couple of months and he was going through withdrawals. _Will I even recognize her when I do see her_?

Just then, his phone buzzed. Probably from Anna telling me not tonight. He unlocked his phone and nearly dropped it onto the pavement. Luckily, he was able to keep a hold of it, and he looked closely at the screen.

Anna had sent the message: _I’m sorry, babe. I have another night shoot tonight._ _☹_ _But in the meantime… maybe this will do?_ She had then sent a couple of pictures that took his breath away.

The first picture was a selfie of her completely topless except for a black laced push-up bra. She was blowing a kiss to the camera. _That little vixen,_ he thought. She knew that was his favorite bra on her.

The second picture was also a selfie, but this time the bra was gone. Just her bare breasts and her giving the camera a flirty and teasing smile. _Fuck._

A tug on the leash brought Aaron back to reality. Apparently he had stopped walking when he looked at the photos and Miles was ahead of him, looking back now with a curious look on his face. “Sorry, buddy.” He said, resuming the walk. While he walked, he sent her a reply.

_You’re killing me._


	25. Crabby

Crabby. It’s an odd word. No, it doesn’t mean that you grow pinchers and walk sideways like a crab. But one does have to wonder where the inspiration came from for that word. Today, Aaron was crabby.

He didn’t really know why specifically. Moulin Rouge was winding down its Boston run. They were already confirmed to move to New York in a few months. But he was exhausted, vocally and physically. Pouring your heart on stage every night really drains a person. Not to mention, he hadn’t seen Anna in three whole months.

They had grown accustomed to sending texts and sometimes calls. Skype or Facetime had all been abandoned due to their schedules not matching at all. Every once in a while, some pictures would be sent, but it was getting more and more scarce. He just missed her.

With a grunt, Aaron entered his apartment, immediately greeted by Miles. The dog jumped up on his hind legs and gave some emphatic licks as a welcoming present. “Hey, buddy,” Aaron greeted, feeling a little less cranky. “You hungry?”

He led his dog into the kitchen and scooped out some food to place in his bowl. As Miles inhaled his food, Aaron felt his phone buzz. Anna was calling, causing a smile to form on his face.

“Hey you.” He answered.

“Hey stranger!” The sound of her voice sounded like music to him. Like a breath of fresh air. “How is the show going?”

He let out a sigh. “Good, I’m just feeling the brunt of it all, I guess. But I told you that we’re going to be headed back to New York soon right?”

“Yeah, you did. I’m so happy for you guys. But if you’re feeling the brunt of it right now, why not take a couple nights off? You know that’s allowed, right?”

Aaron was notorious for never taking a night off, only when he was near death with illness. He had understudies that would cover him, but they were rarely used during the run. Anna would tease him about that. But he knew that people were coming to see him in the shows, and he didn’t want to disappoint anyone. Anna, of course, thought it was ridiculous. “We’ve been over this.” He said rolling his eyes, but still smiling. “Only when it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Uh-huh. So what exactly would it take for you to take a night off then?” She asked.

Aaron paused for a second. “Zombie apocalypse?”

She laughed into the phone. He could picture her rolling her eyes. “Oh, is that all?” The sarcasm in her voice could cut glass.

“Or maybe a visit from my favorite girl on the planet?” He asked, unable to hide the hopefulness in his voice.

He heard her sigh on the other end. _Uh-oh._ “I wish, you know. This schedule they have me on is killing me.”

“Well, couldn’t you take a few days off too? Maybe we could coordinate a vacation or something.”

There was a slight pause before she said, “That’s going to be a little hard to make happen right now.”

 _Uh-oh._ “Why?”

“Um… well… the thing is, there’s been some scheduling snafus with the location we were going to shoot at next week and uh… we’re going to fly out to Hawaii tomorrow.”

Aaron slunk into the couch in his living room like a brick. “What? Why are you going there?”

“Apparently, some producer has some connection with a rancher out there and can get us the rights to shoot there for dirt cheap and… I just found out today.”

Leaning his head back, he took a deep breath in and tried to smile. “Well, that’s cool. You get to go to Hawaii for… how long?”

Another pause from her end. “It’s going to take at least another month.” Her voice sounded quiet, very unlike her normal upbeat and sometimes aggressive tone.

A smile was no longer possible. “Oh,” was the only thing that he could say.

“Please don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Say ‘oh’ like that. You know that I don’t have any control over this.”

Aaron had to force another deep breath. His chest felt heavy. “I know, Anna. It’s just that I don’t really get to see you anymore, let alone get a freaking text message from you. Now this… it’s just hard.”

“I know.” Even though he couldn’t see her, he could imagine her looking down at her feet and drawing circles on the ground. “I don’t like it any more than you do. But this is the job, you know?”

“Yeah. Sometimes, your job sucks.”

A slight chuckle could be heard from her end. “Well, why don’t you take some days off and come out and see me? Hawaii is supposed to be pretty nice this time of year.”

“It’s going to be kind of hard to do that right now, too.” He explained. A hand pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke, feeling a slight headache coming on. “We’ve only got a week or two left in Boston and we’re starting to get ready for the big move to New York.”

“It would only be for a couple days.” She countered. “I think you could spare a vacation. And besides, you said yourself you’re feeling the brunt of it. It’s a perfect time to take a break.”

“I can’t, Anna.”

“You can’t or you won’t?” Ah. There was the aggressive tone.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked.

“Aaron, you’re not Superman. You don’t have to be there for every single performance.”

“I know I don’t have to be, but I want to be. You know that.”

“Yeah, I do.” There was a bitterness to her tone. “But you were the one who was just complaining that you don’t get to see me. And now you have the opportunity, but your stupid sense of duty is getting in the way or whatever you want to call it.”

“Why is it up to me?” At this point, he was pacing in the apartment. His blood was racing.

“It’s not up to you, but you have more leeway than I do right now.”

“No, I don’t. Why are you trying to argue with me right now?”

Anna let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m not. Look, how about this? How about I go to Hawaii and do my job and you stay in Boston and focus on your job? Okay?”

“Whatever.”

“Fine. Bye.” They both hung up the phone just then.

Yep, he was crabby.


	26. Distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the recent events being what they are, I'm going to have much more time and focus to write! You can expect more chapters more frequently! Yay! Thank you for your continued support and love! Stay healthy everyone!

“Can we get an ice pack over here?” Anna held a hand over her forehead, as several production assistants rushed over to her side.

“Are you okay?” One of the stunt men asked. They had just been filming an action sequence when Anna accidentally got a foot to the forehead.

Anna smiled widely and laughed it off. “Yeah, dude. Can you imagine the scar I’m going to get from this?”

Someone from the medical tent rushed over with an ice pack and started to examine her forehead.

“Sweetie, are you okay?” Greta, her make-up assistant, was looking over the medical person’s shoulder. The director came over and asked the same thing.

“Can everyone stop asking me if I’m okay?” Anna said, raising her voice a little. “I’m conscious and I’m able to form complete sentences. I’m fine, okay?”

Still, they decided to cancel the rest of the shoot for the day and Anna retired to her trailer. She had tried to argue that she was still up for finishing the scene, but the director was not having it. Once she got to her trailer, she was able to examine her forehead for the first time. There was a sizeable bruise across her hairline. It hurt a little when she tapped it lightly with her fingers.

She smiled and picked up her phone to take a picture of it. Without thinking about it, she was just about to send it to Aaron. But she stopped herself. Normally, he would be the first one she would tell. He would be concerned and worry about her, and she would try to laugh it off and tease him about how concerned he was. In the end, he would tease her and tell her it was just proof of how tough she actually is.

But she didn’t send it to him. They still hadn’t talked since they had the argument of her going to Hawaii. A couple of weeks had passed, but she was determined not to be the one to reach out to him first. But damn, if she didn’t miss him.

>>>

“Where’s your head at, man?” Ricky and Aaron were hanging out in Ricky’s dressing room. They had just made the big move into the Al Hershfeld theater in New York. They had spent most of the day in rehearsal, but were on their lunch break now.

“What do you mean?” Aaron asked, swallowing his sandwich and washing it down with water.

“You’ve just been… I don’t know, somewhere else lately.” His friend regarded him carefully.

Aaron shrugged and offered a small smile. “Must just be the move or something.”

“Are you still not talking to Anna?”

Aaron sighed deeply. It had been three weeks since he had last talked to her. Well, three weeks and two days. Their last conversation hadn’t really been a conversation at all. It was more like an argument. He had wanted to reach out and patch things up, but he could never figure out exactly what to say. He shrugged again. “I mean, every since she went to California, I haven’t really talked with her much anyway.”

Ricky nodded slowly. “I’m worried about you, bro.”

He held out his hands to the side and smiled. “I’m fine. Honestly.”

Ricky narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. “You need to get laid.”

Aaron, who had taken another swig of water, choked slightly. “Excuse me?”

“You need. To get laid,” Ricky repeated while overenunciating. “How long has it been? Like at least a few months, right?”

“Ricky, you’re an asshole.” Aaron avoided eye contact and pretended to be distracted by his phone.

“That may be, but I’m a correct asshole. Look, long-distance relationships suck, not doubt about that. But you guys are perfect for each other and this whole on-again, off-again thing is exhausting for everyone involved.”

Aaron tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling. He did miss Anna like crazy. It was hard to even look at his phone anymore. His lock screen was a picture of the two of them, Anna on his back as he is giving her a piggy-back ride. Her arms were draped around his neck and her eyes were squeezed shut. She was laughing at whatever lame joke he had told her before her friend Carla had snapped the photo. It was one of his favorite pictures of them.

“It’s not that simple.” Aaron finally said.

Ricky rolled his eyes and groaned loudly. “Yes, it is. You just call her up and say you’re sorry. You are way overcomplicating it for no reason.”

“I’m not overcomplicating it.” He defended. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

A moment of silence fell in the small dressing room. The sound of sandwich wrappers was the only thing that could be heard.

“For what it’s worth,” Ricky finally said. “I’m pretty sure she loves you, too.”


	27. Hello Again (Part 1)

“Fuck it,” Aaron hit the call button and brought the phone up to his ear. For last couple of hours, he had been pacing the apartment with the phone in his hand. He was having an internal and rhetorical argument with himself, trying to get himself to call Anna. To make amends, to hear her voice, to go back to the way things were.

With every ring, the butterflies in his stomach got more and more violent. _Jesus Christ, she better answer the goddamn phone._

“Hey,” Anna’s voice came through.

Suddenly, any words that Aaron was thinking and rehearsing disappeared. “Hi,” he said back.

Time is tricky thing. It felt like an hour went by before the next words were spoken. But in reality, it was only ten seconds. “How’s the show?” Anna asked.

“Good.” Aaron replied. “And the movie? How’s that?”

“Good.” Again, it felt like another hour passed. “Jesus Christ, will you just say something?” Anna demanded.

“I miss you.” Aaron finally said, almost like word vomit. “I miss you so much, babe. And I acted like a dick on our last phone call. I am so sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Anna said. Now it was her turn to vomit. “I was the dickhead and I should have never put that kind of pressure on you. I know how important your job is to you and I should have never asked you to leave it for me. In fact, I feel like an absolute bitch for even doing that.”

“You’re not a bitch. Well, I mean you are, but…”

For the first time, he heard her laugh. It was something he could fall asleep listening to that laugh. “Damn straight, boy. I am a bitch. One bad ass bitch, that’s me.” She insisted. He could practically see her punching the air to make her point.

“So, we’re good?” He asked.

“Yeah, we’re good. But I do miss you.”

“Oh, you do?” Aaron asked in a teasing way. God, he wished that she was with him. “How much?”

At that point, there was a knock at his front door. “Why don’t you answer the door and find out?” Anna said. He could hear her smiling widely. Like a joyful little kid, he leapt to his feet and made a dash for the door. He flung open the door to find his girl standing there, her smile shining brighter than the sun.

He smiled as she jumped in his arms. His arms caught her, and her legs wrapped themselves around his waist instinctively. They spun around and giggled like giddy children.

“What are you doing here?” His question was muffled into her hair, but she still heard him.

“I finished filming.” She answered in his shoulder. Then, she broke away from him just enough to be face-to-face with him. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He leaned forward and placed a much-needed kiss on her lips. An electric feeling transferred between them, like they were creating their own electric flow. It was almost intoxicating. They were promptly interrupted by a bark from Miles.

Anna giggled and he gently let her down on the ground. “Hi, buddy!” She crouched down and ruffled him up behind the ears as he licked her face. “Oh, I missed you too, you big lug. Robert misses you too, you know. He can’t to see you again.”

Aaron couldn’t help but beam at the sight before him. “So, does that mean you’re here to stay?” he asked.

She lifted her head and flashed him a teasing smile. “Well, unless you know of anyone else looking for a girlfriend.” Her finger tapped her chin in mock thoughtfulness. “Maybe Ricky?”

He rolled his eyes and reached out for her hand. “Over my cold dead body.” She giggled and allowed him to bring her close once again. Their lips reconnected, allowing them to explore each other. It was hard to deny the need they both felt, it was clear that they needed to be close more than either of them realized.

When they broke away to gasp for breath, they rested their foreheads together. “Don’t go away again.” He pleaded breathlessly.

Anna smiled. “You’re getting pretty clingy, you know. It’s kind of pathetic, to be honest.”

“I missed you, too.” He said, again bringing her close to him. This is way it was meant to be. Just the two of them.


	28. Hello Again (Part 2)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW to follow. Smutty smut smut about to happen. Don't say I didn't warn ya :)

Long-distance relationships were hard. Not only do you not get to see your significant other every day, but it definitely puts a damper on your sex life. You can send naughty pictures and have phone sex, but you can’t touch them. You can’t feel their hot breath against your skin, their hands desperate and clinging to your skin like they’re reading Braille. It had been so long since Anna and Aaron experienced each other’s touch. It almost felt like being a nervous teenager about to experience their first time.

He kissed her into his bedroom and closed the door behind them with his foot, hearing it slam loudly. As he hit the light switch with a flailing hand, she peppered his neck with her lips, lingering in certain sensitive spots. Aaron’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and gasped for air, while Anna smiled wickedly against his skin.

They stumbled onto the bed, clumsily feeling each other’s bodies. The amount of times they had imagined being together again wasn’t even close to what they felt now. They couldn’t be close enough, and oxygen seemed like a secondary thing. The only thing that mattered was each other.

"Get these off," he ordered, voice rough, as he pulled away from her with a force of will. His hands tugged at her jeans. "Now."

Eyes huge, Anna obeyed his command, hands shaking with want. As she wiggled her jeans off, he watched her closely, drinking in her figure with a deep hunger.

"Jesus, I missed you." Aaron breathed, pulling his t-shirt off over his head and being very aware of her staring at his naked torso.

“Not as half as much I missed you,” She gasped, moving to close the distance between them once again. He pulled her shirt over her head and inhaled sharply when he saw she was wearing his favorite bra, the black lace one.

“Oh, you are going to kill me,” He groaned, moving to her breasts and buried himself between them.

Anna tipped her head back and held his head close to her, tugging gently on his hair to encourage him. “I thought you would like it,” She said breathlessly and smiling. She had nearly forgotten how sexy he made her feel, but boy, was she glad that she remembered. At some point, she had realized that he had unhooked her bra and was worshipping her bare breasts.

They fell back against the bed, Aaron still paying close attention to her chest and Anna laying on her back completely giving herself to him.

Finally, he slowly made his way up to her mouth again and placed a gentle, but desperate kiss on her lips. "Be a good girl and open your legs for me," he stared deep in her eyes, a dark shade falling over his bright blue eyes. "I’m not going to last much longer."

Anna made a sound that sent a chill up his spine, but she allowed her knees to drift apart. His hand moved down her body and pulled roughly at her underwear. As he pushed them down her legs, she went to nibble at his ear, forcing a sound out of him that made a chill go up her spine.

“You keep doing that, I definitely won’t last long,” He told her, raising a suggestive eyebrow at her. He tossed her underwear aside.

“Then, get on with it,” She pulled his head back to hers and showed him just how much she wanted him just by using her tongue.

Aaron almost felt dizzy. He had imagined having her in so many different ways, but right now, there was no game plan. There was no more time for foreplay. He had to have her. Now. He let out a loud groan as her hand found his cock and clasped around it to tug gently. With a flailing hand, he reached over to his nightstand and felt around in the drawer until he found his box of condoms. She seemed to register what he was doing and ran her hand teasingly over him, making him spasm and moan. He didn't think he could take much more, but with a swift movement, she grabbed the condom out of his hand, and placed it on him, her hand taking its sweet time.

"Oh, god, Anna,” He gasped. Anna flipped them over so she straddled him. He laid on his back, his lungs almost aching for oxygen. She finished rolling the rubber over him and leaned down to give one more kiss. His hands went up and snaked themselves in her long hair as she positioned herself over him. They both nearly cried when she lowered herself on to him.

“Oh, my god,” Anna whimpered into his mouth. God, did she ever miss him.

With that, she moved her hips against him, while he let out a string of curse words from underneath her. She was everything he remembered and more - tight, wet, velvety soft... paradise. The best feeling in the world. Her eyes squeezed shut with each movement of her hips. “Look at me, baby,” He begged, holding her head against hers.

She obeyed, staring deep into his ocean blue eyes. If this was the last sight she ever saw, she would die a more than happy woman. “Fuck, Aaron,” She groaned, feeling herself climbing closer and closer.

“It’s okay, baby,” He told her. “Together. Oh, god.” He dropped his head back against the bed, feeling his own end getting closer. After only a few more movements, they shook under each other’s touch. They allowed their bodies to spasm and shake as they rode each other’s high. To say that it was euphoric would be a severe understatement.

Anna collapsed against the bed off to the side of him, trying to regain the ability to breathe, while Aaron did most of the same thing.

“I know I said I wouldn’t go away again,” Anna finally said. “But if going away means we get to experience that every time, I may just have to.”

Aaron laughed heartily and pulled her into his embrace. “Not a fucking chance.” He laughed and to emphasize his point, he squeezed her a little extra hard.


	29. Surprise

“We responded to a fire at your place of residence,” was the only thing that he heard before he hung up the phone and ran. Aaron had just finished a performance when he saw that his phone had a collection of missed calls. It was from an unknown number and it had left a voicemail. Never had he changed out of his costume quicker and ran out of the theater.

His mind filled with all sorts of horrific images and thoughts as his driver drove him to his apartment. _What happened? Was Miles okay? Was Anna anywhere near his place?_ The very thought made him goad his driver to go faster. “I will pay for any speeding ticket you will get, I promise,” he told him. “Just step on it.”

It seemed like they hit every red light and slow driver that existed in the New York area. Aaron debated several times if it would take less time for him to just go on foot the rest of the way.

Bright lights snapped him out of his worries and let him know that he was close. Traffic was congested around his street, so he paid his driver and decided that now was a good time to hoof it the rest of the way.

There were several firefighters out in front of his building, as well as a couple different ambulances and fire trucks. Several of his neighbors were also gathered in large groups on the sidewalk. Aaron ran up to the first firemen he set his eyes on. “What happened? Is anyone hurt?” He gasped.

“Are you a resident here?” The fireman asked.

 _Seriously about to punch a firefighter right now._ “Yes, I’m Aaron. I just got the call that there was a fire. Now, listen to me, was anyone hurt? What the hell happened?”

“Just calm down, sir.” The firefighter said, holding out his hands toward him. _Oh, for fuck’s sake_.

Just then, Aaron saw Anna over the man’s shoulder. She was sitting on the bumper of one of the ambulances while an EMT was giving her an oxygen mask. Aaron practically pushed the firefighter off to the side as he made a mad dash to her.

“Anna, are you alright?” He asked, still having trouble finding his breath. His eyes scanned her body, in search for any sign of injury. No obvious bruising that he could see. _Thank fuck._

Upon seeing him, she pulled her mask off. “Oh, thank god.” She said, annoyance laced in her voice. “Will you please tell this woman that I am fine and don’t need a goddamn oxygen mask?”

Aaron felt like crying. She was okay. Not only was she okay, but she was yelling at people to stop worrying about her. Everything was okay now.

“It’s just a precaution.” The EMT explained, clearly just as annoyed with Anna as Anna was with her.

“What happened?” Aaron demanded.

“We responded to a 911 call at around 9 p.m.” The EMT explained. “A fire appeared to have started in the kitchen. We don’t know yet what exactly caused it, but it looks like the damage was mostly contained in the kitchen.”

“What about Miles?” Aaron asked Anna.

“He’s fine, Aaron.” Anna assured him. She pointed towards one of the neighbors’ kids that were playing with him on the sidewalk. “The kids just down the hall from you were scared by the sirens, so I let them play with Miles.”

At long last, his breath returned to normal. “I’m just glad you’re both okay.” He said wrapping his arms around her tightly.

“Exactly,” Anna nodded and turned back to the EMT. “Now, can I please go?”

“I haven’t yet had a chance to fully examine you.” The EMT said.

“Don’t you think that if I had burns or any injuries, I would tell you?”

“Anna, it’s just an oxygen mask,” Aaron smiled, sitting down next to her. “Let her do her job.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

“Are you her roommate?” The EMT questioned him.

“Boyfriend, actually,” He corrected her. Unseen by the others, Anna blushed. It was kind of nice to her him call himself her boyfriend. Since they hadn’t told anyone about their relationship, this was really the first time she heard him say that. And it felt… good.

Just then, another firefighter came over holding a charred item in his hand. “We found the cause of the fire.” He said holding out what was in his hand. It was a burnt pan of sorts.

“I tried telling you guys when you got here.” Anna defended. “I was cooking, and I spilled oil on the burner. I tried to put it out by throwing water on it, but that made it worse.”

“You don’t throw water on an oil fire,” Aaron told her.

“Well, I didn’t know that,” Anna argued. “It was a fire, and the extent of my fire knowledge was water equals no fire.”

“In future, oil fires are best put out by covering it up with a lid or with salt or baking powder.” The firefighter explained. “The damage isn’t too bad. You will probably need to replace the stove and repaint, but that’s really the worst of it. There was some smoke damage, but we’re trying to deal with that now. You should be able to go back in after we’re done. Should only take a few more minutes.”

“Thank you,” Aaron nodded. After the firefighter left and the EMT finished her examination, Aaron finally got a chance to hold his girlfriend close to him and have her all to himself. He held her slightly tighter than normal, but she knew that he needed to. “You were cooking?” He asked.

“I was going to surprise you.” She offered weakly. “I found this recipe online that looked easy enough.”

He smiled into her hair. A faint aroma of smoke still lingered, but he still could detect the scent of her shampoo. Thank god he still could. “Well, I certainly am surprised.”

Anna couldn’t hold back her laughter. The sound of her laughter sounded like music to him. “I’m sorry,” She said at last looking up at him. “I promise, I will never attempt to cook for you ever again.”


	30. Two Words

The big talk of moving in together had occurred. Anna was the one who had brought it up first. No, really.

“Come on, we practically live together already anyway,” She explained. The two of them happened to be laying in her bed, just vegging out.

Aaron sat up and furrowed his brow in thought. “Are you serious?” He was pretty much dumbfounded and honestly a little blindsided.

Anna sat up too and faced him. “I am serious. More serious about anything in my entire life.”

He looked over at her, eyebrows still knitted together. “You are actually wanting to take that step?”

She threw her hands out to the side of her in frustration. “Why do you keep asking me that? I’m saying it, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, but…” He scratched the back of his neck as he thought. “I guess I just didn’t expect this from you.”

A chuckle escaped her. “Yeah, me neither. I was dead set against relationships for a while and the biggest commitment-phobe in the world.” Her hand reached out and rubbed his arm gently. “But doesn’t it just seem right?”

He scoffed a little. “I guess, but… you know that this is going to be hard to come back from. If you recall, you didn’t want to have sex with me in the beginning because you said you didn’t want it to ruin our friendship.”

Anna smiled at the memory. Being back at the hotel room after her first feature film premiere. “Well, consider our friendship effectively ruined.” She said with a giggle. “Once you’ve enjoyed one slice of pie, it’s hard to not want the rest of it.”

They both laughed at her analogy. “So am I the slice of pie in that scenario?” He asked.

“Mmm, yes sir,” She went up on her knees, wrapped her arms around his neck, and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “I don’t know what spell you’ve put over me, but now, I’m not so cynical anymore. Before this, I would have scoffed at every relationship cliché in the book. But now, I want to do it all with you. I want to fight over the toilet seat being up all the time. I want to yell at you for not taking out the trash enough. I want you to secretly judge me on my cooking abilities.”

He laughed at her again. “So you’re saying you want to live together so we can fight all the time?”

“Yeah, you know how much I want to fight everyone,” Anna smiled back at him. “Plus, I know that I can win most of the fights with you.” She raised a teasing eyebrow and leaned in close to place another kiss on his lips.

But he abruptly pulled away from her defensively. “What makes you think you can win most of the fights?” He challenged.

“Two words,” She replied confidently. “Tits and ass.”

He laughed into her collarbone, holding her close. This woman was his everything. It was like he was addict and she was his drug. He never wanted to quit her. “You think I’m that shallow?” He asked through his fits of laughter.

“Honey, I know you’re that shallow.” Anna smiled at him, raising an eyebrow. Gently tugging his head back to face her again, she cradled his face in her hands. “So does that mean we’re going to do this?”

 _God, how is so she beautiful?_ “Where are we going to live? Yours or mine?” He asked.

“Neither.” She answered. “We need a neutral space that we can create together. I’ve already started to poke around a bit.”

“So you decided this for us then?”

“I told you, I win most arguments. It’s best if you just stop fighting and give into it.” To make her point, she hovered her lips over his, but did not allow him to connect.

“I think using sex to get your way is a low blow,” He whined.

“It may be low, but it’s also effective.” She whispered, noticing the chills running over him. “You give?”

“Yeah, okay, I give,” He placed a hand on the back of her head to hold it place while he placed a rather aggressive kiss on her lips. He was not ready to admit it yet, but she was right about one thing: It did just seem right.


	31. Come Get It

“Anna, I can’t find my sweatshirt.” Aaron rummaged through the closet like a crazed lunatic. It was a crisp fall day out and he wanted to wear one of his favorite sweatshirts. The one that was super soft on the inside and made him feel like he was wearing a blanket. “Where the fuck did I put it?”

They had lived in their new place only a month, some boxes still lined the walls, piles of clothes yet to be put in their proper places yet were scattered all over. They hadn’t decided yet on a dresser that they really wanted, and so the boxes were the next best thing for the time being. But that also meant a messy house until they finally came to an agreement on one that they both liked.

“Uh, I don’t know, babe,” came Anna’s voice from the living room. “Did you try the closet?”

“If I tried any harder, I’d find Narnia,” He snapped back sarcastically. Then, he turned and looked through some of the piles on the floor.

“Why does it matter? You have so many sweatshirts.” Anna tried to assure him.

There was something in her voice, something… sneaky and hidden. Wait a second, he thought. He slowly rose to his feet and snuck around the corner, poking his head around the corner just enough to look in the living room.

What he found as he looked around his quaint living room was Anna sitting on the couch. She was sipping tea and scrolling on her phone. If she knew he was there, she didn’t let on. But that’s all that he saw. Yes, she was sitting there on her phone and sipping tea, but he noticed that she was also wearing a familiar looking sweatshirt. His sweatshirt.

A grin spread across his lips. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “You’re wearing it.” Aaron said, announcing his presence.

Upon hearing his voice, she jumped slightly and looked up at him. “No, I’m not. This is mine,” She tried to argue. To no avail.

“You’re a terrible liar,” He chuckled. “And even though you look good in my clothes, I was kind of hoping that I would be able to wear it today.”

Anna stuck out her bottom lip and hugged herself. “But it’s comfy.” She whined.

 _God, she’s adorable_. “Yeah, that’s kind of why I wanted to wear it,” He pushed himself off the wall and slowly slunk towards her.

“No, I don’t want you to,” She slowly stood up and got into a ready position. “It’s mine now.”

A playful spark twinkled in her boyfriend’s eye. “I’m going to get that sweatshirt, you know,” He warned her.

She gave a closed-mouth chuckle and raised an eyebrow. “I would you really to see you try.”

A moment of sizing each other up passed, before both of them sprang into action like a gunshot. He lunged for her, as she stepped on the coffee table to leap over it. Aaron was much more athletic than she was, and therefore, was much lighter on his feet. He caught her around the waist mid-leap, but with the momentum from both of their movements, they immediately fell to the ground in a heap.

They both erupted into a fit of giggles once they realized what had happened. Despite it, he never let go of her waist. “Way to go, Mr. Smooth Moves,” Anna teased, playfully pushing him. “Only a month into the new place and we almost put a dent in the floor.”

“I was trying to get something,” He defended.

“Oh?” Anna then pushed herself up and straddled his waist. She gripped the collar of the sweatshirt she was wearing and flashed a coy smile. “You mean this thing?”

Then, she made a show as she slowly lifted the sweatshirt over her head. Aaron laid there watching her with a wicked smile on his face. _Vixen._ Some part of him was disappointed when she revealed that she was wearing a tshirt underneath. But in her movement, the shirt lifted a little to reveal part of her stomach. Once the sweatshirt was off of her head, she bundled it up in a ball and held it out to the side. She leaned down so she was mere centimeters from his face. “Go ahead and take it.” Her voice was low and breathy and a chill danced down his spine.

Aaron made a reach for it, but she pulled it away just beyond his hand. “You are not playing fair,” He told her.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish, Tveit,” She said, before finally closing the distance between them.


	32. Freak Out

A horror scene. Like a fucking tornado ripped through the entire living room. Like Anna had finally killed someone and was storing the body somewhere in the apartment. These were just some of the thoughts Aaron had as he came home from work. Plastic, wood panels, and screws littered the floor like IKEA had exploded.

Anna, who seemed to be wrestling a couple of boards together on the floor, lifted her head up when she heard the door close. The crazed look in her eyes almost made him want to run out the door. “Welcome home, now fucking help me.” She commanded.

“What happened in here?” He asked carefully, and looking at every space on the floor before he stepped.

“That one bookshelf I loved finally arrived.” Anna aggressively pushed the boards in her hands to the floor and pulled her hair back into a pony as she spoke. “But apparently I didn’t read the fine print and I had to assemble it. And that would have been fine if the directions were written in plain English and everything was fucking labeled.”

“How long have you been at this?”

“Longer than it should take, Aaron,” She snapped. “I know that I am not exactly a handyman, but I would like to think that I can handle a simple goddamn bookshelf. But apparently, this bookshelf does not want to be put together or it’s literally the fucking devil in wood form!” She inhaled after she realized that she hadn’t taken a breath in a while.

Aaron couldn’t help but smile at her frustrated state. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead in an effort to comfort her. “Have no fear, milady,” He spoke in his signature calming voice that at the moment really irked her. “Your knight in shining armor is here to help.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a knight in shining armor. I need power tools.”

“Then power tools you shall have.”

Once they cranked out Aaron’s power tools they finished building the bookshelf in an hour. Somehow, he was able to translate the instructions and explain the steps in a calm and gentle way. It was like he had a magical power to calm her down whenever she got upset. Within ten minutes of him helping out, she had all but forgotten how angry she was.

After it was finished, they pushed it against the wall and admired their handiwork. “Voila,” Aaron gestured dramatically towards the shelf.

“Not bad, huh?” Anna held up a hand for him to high-five. Once he did, she winced in pain. “Motherfucker!” She exclaimed.

Panic washed over him. “What, what happened?” He asked.

“I think I got a splinter,” She muttered, examining her hand closely.

A sigh of relief escaped him. “Follow me into the bathroom. I’ll get the tweezers.” He said in his signature calm voice. He grabbed her by the wrist, careful not to touch her injured hand.

“It’s just a splinter,” She tried to protest. “I think I can handle it.”

“You know, you don’t always have to be so brave.”

“Yeah, I do. If you let your guard down for a small piece of wood, who knows what other misfortunes may fall upon you.”

He opened one of the drawers in the bathroom and pulled out the tweezers. “This is probably going to hurt,” He warned her, as he held up her hand closer to his face.

She rolled her eyes. “What? No stick to bite down on?”

With one swift flick of his wrist, he withdrew the splinter from her hand. “Jesus Christ,” Anna said through gritted teeth. “That was really wedged in there.”

Aaron smiled and placed a kiss on her open wound. “Better?”

Anna tried not to smile but failed miserably. “Sort of.”

He then pulled her closer and gave her a loving kiss. “How about now?”

She hummed. “Okay,” She smiled and hugged him tightly. “Thank you for helping me tonight.”

“Well, that’s what you do for the people you love.”

The words hung in the air like it was suspended in space. No one breathed or moved for a solid minute.

“What did you say?” Anna finally asked. She turned her head up to look at him.

He took a deep breath in. “I love you,” He repeated.

She nodded slowly and released him from her grasp. “Okay,” was the only word she could think of saying. But one thing was for sure, the bathroom suddenly felt like it was shrinking and she had to get out now.

“Anna, wait,” Aaron followed close behind her. “I’m sorry if I just freaked you out. I didn’t mean to say that. But I’m also not sorry I said it because it is the truth.” She didn’t seem to register what he was saying. She went and sat down on the couch, her facial expression unreadable. “I don’t think it’s too soon,” Aaron continued, unable to stop. “I mean how long has it been? Like a year or so? If anything, it might be overdue. But you don’t have to say it if you don’t feel that way.”

“Aaron,” She cut him off, still not looking at him and her facial expression unchanged. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m not upset or freaked out at what you said.”

There was a little pause, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t. “Then what is it?” He asked, unable to hide his own panic. “Come on, Anna, you’re not normally so quiet and right now you’re kinda killing me.”

Slowly, she turned her head to look at him. “I’m not freaked out by what you said. But I am kinda freaking out right now.”

 _Idiot,_ he thought to himself. He knelt down beside her and rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to say anything. I never should have…”

“No, Aaron,” She interrupted. “The reason why I’m freaking out right now is… because… I think I love you, too.”

He felt his heart leap up into his throat. “What?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never said that to anyone outside of my family. Or really, really close friends. I don’t even think I know the meaning behind those words. And I am a child of divorce, so that does not help my case at all.”

Aaron cut her off but grabbing her face and pulling to it his. “Say it again,” He asked her when they broke apart.

She rolled her eyes. “Are you really going to make me say it right now?”

“Yeah, I want to hear it again.”

Anna let out a huff. “I love you.” Her voice was meek and quiet, very unlike her.

But it still brought tears to his eyes. It was the most beautiful phrase in the English language. “I love you, too.”


	33. Challenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sort of inspired by a scene from the film, P.S. I Love You, sort of inspired by one of Aaron's concerts, enjoy!

“Alright, how’s everyone doing tonight?” Ricky spoke into the mic. He was answered with a resounding round of hooting and hollering. The cast of Moulin Rouge had rented out a karaoke room for a cast party. The drinks had been flowing like it was New Years and everyone was all riding on a good buzz.

“So, enough of me hogging the mic,” Ricky continued.

“Sing another Journey song,” someone from the crowd shouted to which everyone laughed at.

Even Ricky. “No, no.” He waved a dismissive hand. But then he raised his glass for the crowd to see. “I need to get a refill anyway. But I say that we have heard some amazing and outstanding performances tonight, but I think we would be remised if we did not hear a tune from our leading man, Mr. Aaron Tveit.” He pointed to where he was sitting the crowd. Upon hearing his own name, the man rolled his eyes. The people around him cheered. Anna sat next to him and practically pushed him to his feet. After some more taunting, he reluctantly made his way to the stage.

Ricky greeted him with a bro hug. “You’re dead meat.” Aaron told him, unheard by the cheering crowd around him. Ricky just clapped a friendly hand in his friend’s back and handed the mic off to his friend.

Aaron spoke to the DJ running the karaoke system for a brief moment and got back on stage. The cheers roared up again. “Alright, alright, calm down everyone.” He laughed humbly into the mic.

“Sing us a song, piano man!” Anna shouted.

This earned another chuckle from Aaron. “In case anyone is wondering that is my very wonderful and very drunk girlfriend.” The room erupted in laughter and Anna did a small little dance in her seat. “But actually, I’m going to dedicate this little number to Anna, because it is one of her favorite songs of all time. So this one’s for you, babe.” The crowd awed as he slurped from his glass.

The music started, upbeat and boppy. “Oh, no,” Anna groaned, covering her mouth in shock. _I know this song._

“I stay out too late,” Aaron sang into the mic. “Got nothing in my brain. That’s what people say, mmm-mmm. That’s what people say, mmm-mmm.” The entire room hollered their approval when they realized what song he was singing. All except Anna.

One of the most common arguments Aaron and Anna had was over music. Aaron was a huge lover of pop music, especially Taylor Swift. Anna was more of an alternative, indie kind of girl. Oh, and hated Taylor Swift. Which caused many arguments when they were trying to decide what music to play. _I’m going to murder him._

“And the players gonna play, play, play, play, play. And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.” It could have been his cheekiness or the amount of booze he had already consumed, but as Aaron sang he pranced around the stage and made a big show as if he was giving his own concert. The crowd cheered and laughed, and most sang along with him. He was clearly having a lot of fun. Anna was staring daggers at him.

“Hey, hey, hey. Just think while you’ve been getting down and out about the liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world. You could’ve been getting down to this, sick, beat.” Aaron leapt off the stage and slowly made his way towards Anna, who was violently shaking her head.

“Uh-uh, stop,” She tried to tell him, but if he heard her, he did not show it. The people around him cheered and sang along.

“My ex-man brought his new girlfriend. She’s like, ‘Oh, my god’ but I’m just gonna shake.” He reached the table where Anna was sitting and danced around her chair. She sat with her hands over her mouth, giving him a look that could kill. “And to the fella over there with the hella good hair won’t you come on over, baby? We can shake, shake, shake.” For extra measure, he placed a kiss on top of her head and continued to sing, making his way back to the stage to finish the song. Anna shook her head. _Dead man walking_.

Once he finished the song, everyone screamed and rose to their feet. He dramatically took a bow and laughed heartily. Unseen by him, Anna was giving a slow and sarcastic clap.

“Thank you very much.” Aaron said into the mic. “As I said, that song was dedicated to my girlfriend, Anna, who is sitting right over there.” He pointed towards her as everyone gave her a round of applause. “And she is a great person and I would totally ask her up here to sing the next song,” Everyone cheered again. “But,” Aaron spoke a little louder. “But I’m not going to do that for one simple reason. She would never do it. She doesn’t have the guts.”

Anna raised an eyebrow at him as everyone around her shouted. He stared back at her and gave her a challenging look. Slowly, she nodded and gulped down the rest of her drink. Then she stood up, which caused more cheers from her crowd of supporters.

She made her way to the DJ and told him the song she wanted. And then she went to grab the mic from her boyfriend. “Thank you,” She spoke into the mic and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Aaron Tveit, ladies and gentlemen.” The crowd cheered. “Yes, living proof that the dead can walk.” Everyone awed at that line, as she motioned for him to take his seat. He went with his hands held up, as if to signify his surrender. _Oh, you are not getting off that easily._

“Actually, can we get him a seat right up front here?” She asked his castmates. Ricky stopped him from going back to his original seat and sat him down in the seat where she gestured. “Thanks, guys. So I thought it was only fair to return the favor to my sweet and very thoughtful boyfriend.” Her words were laced with danger and Aaron felt like he was about to be in for it. She blew him a kiss and said, “Love ya, babe.”

The crowd seemed to be unaware the hidden meaning behind her actions as they awed and clapped.

The music began low and subtle. “There’s a fire starting in my heart,” She sang into the mic, making dead eye-contact with Aaron. Everyone hooted and hollered. Ricky grabbed his friend by the shoulders and shook him. Aaron chuckled. “Reaching a fever pitch, it’s bringing me out the dark.” She then started to gesture towards him. “Finally, I can see you crystal clear. So go ‘head and sell me out and I’ll lay your shit there.”

The crowd sang along with her, as she let her inner sass play out for the audience. She sang the song as if it was her final performance before retiring. Her hips swayed to the beat, her gestures were big and theatrical, like a true performer. All Aaron could do was sit back and watch her, unable to wipe a goofy grin off his face. Eventually, he found himself singing along, too.

“Turn my sorrow into treasured gold. You’ll pay me back in time and reap just what you sow.” She hopped off the stage and slunk towards her boyfriend. “We could have had it all. We could have it all.” She leaned in close to him, half holding the mic out to him so he could hop in with the harmony to which he gladly joined. “It all, it all, it all. We could have had it all.” She made a show dancing around him, making sure her hips were swaying a little extra wide, just for him. “Rolling in the deep. You had my heart inside of your hands.” She went to finish the song back up on stage. “And you played it, you played it, you played it to the beat.” With the final lyric, she flashed him her middle finger as the whole room erupted. Everyone rose to their feet, screaming at the top of their lungs, while Anna blew kisses to her audience and bowed graciously.

Ricky then hopped on stage and took the microphone from her, as she made her way to back to Aaron. “Don’t ever challenge me again.” She told him with a smug look on her face. He threw his head back laughing and then scooped her up in a bear hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaron's song: Shake It Off by Taylor Swift  
> Anna's song: Rolling in the Deep by Adele  
> Just as FYI


	34. Strain

He was late. Really late. One autograph at the stage door turned into ten, which turned to hundreds in a matter of seconds. He should have known better, he knew that. But with all the outpouring of enthusiasm the fans were giving him, it was really hard to say no. Anna and Aaron had a plan to stay up late, catching up on Dancing with the Stars, a guilty pleasure show they both enjoyed. Aaron looked down at his watch, as he rode the subway home. Midnight.

Things between Anna and Aaron lately had been… different. Not strained or awkward. But different. Anna had gotten a job leading a few theatre classes for kids during the day, which coincided when Aaron happened to be home and awake. By the time, she would get home, they would have maybe an hour before Aaron had to leave for that night’s show. Weekends were also a hit or miss. She had an audition, he had an interview, she had a lunch date with a friend from out of town, it was a two-show day, something always came up. So they decided on a night to do something as simple as catching up on one of their favorite shows to watch together.

 _Maybe I should pick up some flowers,_ he thought as the subway car rumbled around him. _Nah, she’ll probably be angrier that I wasted more time with those._ But he knew that she wasn’t going to be happy.

He racked his brain for what to say as he neared the front door of their apartment. Maybe she’d be asleep. Maybe she wouldn’t be upset. Maybe they could have a good laugh about it and leave it at that. Taking a deep breath, he unlocked the door and crossed the threshold. Immediately, Miles greeting him with an eager wag of the tail and resting his paws on his legs, trying to get at his face for a welcome home lick. Aaron couldn’t help but smile at the dog’s eagerness and knelt down to give him a good ruffle. “Hey, buddy,” He greeted, trying to escape the dog’s slobbery tongue. Robert came over and rubbed the side of his body on Aaron’s leg. “And Sir Robert,” He gave the cat a friendly, but brief pat. Aaron had called him ‘sir’ in reference to his general behavior of acting like he was above everyone.

Finally, Aaron stood, gently pushing Miles off him. He looked down the small hallway and tried to see into the living room. He couldn’t see Anna, but he could hear the TV going. Slowly, he made his way into the living room, where he found Anna sitting on the couch, intensely staring at the TV. If she heard him enter the room, she did not acknowledge him.

“Hey,” He offered with a smile, testing the room. Again, she did not acknowledge him, and kept her eyes on the screen. He happened to look over at the TV and see what she was watching. “You’re watching it without me?”

“Got tired of waiting.” She finally replied, still refusing to look at him.

“I know,” Aaron shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m really sorry. There were just a lot of people at the stage door tonight and…”

“No need to explain, Aaron,” Anna told him. “It’s fine.”

Judging from her tone and the general vibe she was giving off, he could tell it was not “fine”. He sighed and leaned against the wall, hands still in his pockets. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Nothing to talk about.”

“Anna.” He paused, hoping that she would take it as a hint to finally look at him. She didn’t. “I said I’m sorry. I don’t what else you want from me.”

“You know what, I’m tired,” Anna flicked off the TV and finally stood. Even now, she made sure not to look at him. “I’m going to bed.” She moved past him and into the bedroom down the hall. Aaron followed after her.

“No, come on, Anna. You’re upset, so let’s talk about it. My parents always said never to go to bed angry.”

“That’s such a stupid cliché,” Anna scoffed. “My parents went to bed angry almost every night.”

“Yeah, and they’re divorced.”

“But they are ultimately happy.” She countered, going about her nighttime routine.

“Anna, stop.” Finally, she listened. “I am sorry for being late, okay? Time got away from me and…”

“See, that’s the problem.” Anna finally turned and faced him. Now, he could get a full view of the fire behind her eyes. “Time hasn’t been on our side for months now. I barely get to see you anymore.”

“I know…”

“No, I don’t think you do, Aaron. Honestly, I never wanted to be this girl, because they always seemed to be so fragile and clingy. But I’m becoming one of those girls that just wait by phone or the door, just waiting for her man to come home to her. And you know how independent I am. I am not a clingy girlfriend that needs to spend every waking moment with you. But I need something. Because lately, I’ve been feeling more like a roommate than a girlfriend.”

He listened, nodding along with her. “I know. But you know how demanding my schedule is, and with you taking that teaching job…”

“So, now it’s my fault?” Anna challenged.

Aaron closed his eyes, trying to maintain his cool. “No, Anna. That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is, that we have conflicting schedules that is beyond either of our control.”

“Really?” She crossed her arms. “It’s out of our control. Tell me, how many nights off have you taken this month? Or even with this whole run? How many?”

He paused, a look of realization spreading over his face. “So that’s what this is about?”

“No,” She replied. “Not all of it. But it does have some influence over the situation.”

“Anna, we have talked about this ad nauseum.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke. “I thought we were past this.”

“No, you have talked about it ad nauseum and I listened. Do you remember when I was filming in California? You were complaining that you didn’t get to see me a lot and I told you to take a few days off. And did you do that? No.”

“We were making the transition from Boston to New York,” His tone was laced with annoyance. “Why are you bringing that up now? What does that have to do with anything?”

“I’m saying that this is the exact problem that we had before. And how did we solve that problem? We didn’t. I was done with filming and came to live with you. My point is, that nothing has changed. You’re still a goddamned workaholic.”

“So what is your solution, then? How do you propose we solve this? Do you want me to quit the show?”

“Oh, please don’t be so dramatic,” Anna rolled her eyes. “That is not what I’m saying.”

But Aaron did not let it go. “No, from what I’m gathering here, you are upset that I’m never home, because I work too much. So is the solution to said problem that I stop working?”

“Aaron, stop. I would never ask you to do that. And you know it.”

“And why is this put on me anyway? If I recall correctly, I was in the wrong back in Boston, too. It was up to me to take time off to come see you, right?”

“Oh, my god,” Anna rubbed her face and threw her hands out. “Will you listen to me? I am not saying that everything is your fault. I am not asking you to quit the show. What I am saying is that we need a better system. Because, again, as of right now, we are roommates more than we are in a relationship. And because of that issue, we need to come up with a way to fix that.”

“By having me taking time off. What about you and your classes? Why can’t you take some time off too?”

“I am willing to do that, Aaron. I am more than willing to put that part of my life off to the side, even though it is a passion of mine. And all I am asking you to do is the same thing. I know how passionate you are about your job and the show, and I know how much of people pleaser you are and how big of a work ethic you have. But what I am asking you to do is simply take one night off a week. Not Mondays, because those are already your days off. Pick one night a week that your bored understudies can go on for you, and we spend an entire day together.”

He considered her words for a moment. “Why can’t it be Mondays?”

“Oh, Jesus Christ, are you not willing to compromise on this?”

“All I’m asking is why can’t our days together be Mondays when I already have that day off?”

“Okay, well for one, because on Mondays, you’re always overly tired and cranky. And second, do you hear what I am asking you to do? I am asking for you to set aside your work one freaking day a week, where this relationship is a priority.”

“Alright then, if I take a night off every once in a while, will that make you happy?”

Anna laughed bitterly. “So that’s all this is to you? Just something to make me shut up and be happy?”

Aaron stared up at the ceiling. “Please tell me what you want me to say, so that you’re not mad anymore. I’m tired and I just want to go to bed.”

She held up her hands. “Go ahead. I hope the couch suits you.”

“Whatever.” And with that, he turned on his heels and went into the living room. Anna slammed the bedroom door closed for extra measure. She collapsed on the bed, covering her face, and letting all of her emotions wash over her at once. Aaron did the same as he laid flat on his back on the couch. Miles came over and rested his head on his owner’s stomach. Without thinking, he placed a hand on the dog’s head and stroked his ears.

A couple of hours passed, but neither of them were asleep. Their last conversation haunted them and rendered trying to fall asleep a fool’s errand. The sound of scratching softly echoed in the apartment. Aaron lifted his head off the couch. He saw that Miles was laying down on the floor next to him, his head was up too. The scratching kept persisting and suddenly, he knew what it was.

“Anna,” He called. “Your cat wants in.”

“He’ll be fine.” She hollered back. The scratching continued and eventually, Robert began to holler.

“Anna!”

“Robert, calm down.” She yelled, which seemed to halt the yowling, but it did not hinder the scratching.

Unable to take much more, Aaron pushed himself to his feet and went to open the door for him. “Spoiled brat.” He muttered reaching for the door handle. Before he could twist the handle, he saw that it was already twisting, and the door was already opening. Anna opened the door and stared at Aaron, as Robert slipped into the room happily.

“You can’t sleep either, huh?” Aaron asked, symbolically offering an olive branch.

Anna shrugged. The true answer was that she wasn’t used to sleeping alone. But she was not about to admit that. She noticed that he was still in day clothes. “Could be because you’re trying to sleep in jeans.”

He looked down and smiled. “I don’t suppose you’d let me…” She had already gestured into the room before he could finish. Aaron quietly rifled through the drawers of the dresser in search for comfortable clothes, while Anna stood by the door. Both of them struggled to find the words they wanted to say at that moment. In truth, Aaron found pajamas right away, but was rifling through the drawers to bide time.

Because they were both distracted, neither of them saw Robert reaching up a paw, just as Aaron closed the drawer on the paw. The cat yelped in pain and both of them jumped. Upon seeing what had happened, Aaron opened the drawer enough to release Robert’s paw and the cat bolted out the door.

“Jesus Christ, Robert!” Anna yelled at him as he zoomed passed her. “What did you think was going to happen, you spaz?”

“I keep telling you he’s a weirdo,” Aaron said.

“Hard to argue with that.” She chuckled slightly. They both looked at each other, slowly allowing themselves to giggle. The tension in the air slowly melted away with each giggle. “Truce?” Anna gave him a hopeful look.

“Come here.” He smiled. She mirrored his smiled and ran into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. They held each other like this for a moment, relaying their apologies through close proximity. Until Aaron finally said, “I’m sorry.”

“Me, too. I was acting so crazy.” She released her grip on him enough to rest her forehead on his. “You know how I get sometimes.”

“I’ll take time off this week. You were right. I am working too much.” They kissed each other desperately, like they had been separated for years. When they finally came up for air, he added, “You’re too important for me to lose.”

“You’re not going to lose me. And I’m not about to lose you.” She brought his lips to hers again.


	35. Epilogue

Our story, as does life, continues on. Anna and Aaron continue to grow in their love for each other. Once they announced their relationship, they quickly grew to become Broadway’s new power couple. For a brief time, she served as an understudy for Karen Olivo in Moulin Rouge and was able to perform opposite of her boyfriend. They are each other’s biggest supporters and would often be seen behind the scenes at whatever new project the other person was involved in.

The future is always unclear until you live it. When Anna first moved to New York, she could have never predicted the life she currently lived. When she went to work that day they met, she was not banking on meeting someone who would come to be so important to her. Aaron definitely didn’t set out on that fateful day in search of the love of his life. So to wonder what happens to the two of them is unanswerable. Yet.

Maybe one day they will get married. Have kids. Get a house in the suburbs. Maybe one day they would separate and move on to a different relationship.

One thing is for sure, however. Life is better lived with someone you care about. Take it from Anna and Aaron.

_“What are you doing?”_

_“Writing down our love story.”_

_“Gross.”_

_“I know. I hate how cute we are.”_

_“Well, we better get going. They’re expecting us soon.”_

_“Yeah… Hey, do you think about the future a lot?”_

_“Sure… who doesn’t? What’s that got to do with anything?”_

_“Ah, never mind.”_

_“You sure?”_

_“Yeah. Come on, we’re going to be late.”_

_“Hey, have I mentioned today how much I love you?”_

_“Shut up and help me grab these bags."_

_"Ugh, since did I become the pack mule?"_

_"That's what you get for falling love in with me."_

_"Why did it have to be me?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun little project for me to work on, and I am afraid it has run its course. Huge thanks to all of you who have left kudos and comments and continue to do so! Your kind words and love has been a big encouragement to me.


End file.
